


Ryan Evans: Jazz Squares and Hats

by FlopLikeAMop, ZipZapZop



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Chad is bi, Derby Evans is the best mom, Derby is all Chyan shippers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gabriella is a sweetheart, Jason is in the background being dumb, Jazz Sqaures, M/M, Movie: High School Musical 2 (2007), Please don’t touch his hats unless you’re Chad, Ryan and his hats, Ryan is very gay, Ryan loves Jazz Sqaures, Ryan speaks in jazz square, Ryan-centric, Selectively Mute Ryan, That baseball game, That’s not straight, Troy is a human basketball, oblivious chad, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlopLikeAMop/pseuds/FlopLikeAMop, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZipZapZop/pseuds/ZipZapZop
Summary: Ryan already had enough against him as the selectively mute theatre kid. Not to mention he was Sharpay Evans twin brother, which meant he had to share a grade and a house with the most egotistical super star known to history.No, the universe really had it out for him. So he had to be the selectively mutegaytheatre kid with no friends and no summer plans.Or so he thought.
Relationships: Chad Danforth/Ryan Evans, Ryan Evans/Troy Bolton (one-sided), Troy Bolton/Gabriella Montez, Troy Bolton/Sharpay Evans (one-sided), Zeke Baylor/Sharpay Evans (mentioned)
Comments: 73
Kudos: 517





	1. Chapter Uno

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on this lonely work, you have our love! Chyan is too good not to write about, even if Disney was too coward to make them canon. Enjoy the show, guys. ~Max
> 
> This started as a joke, but I guess that’s how all good stories start, right? ~Mop

When Ms. Darbus called Ryan over, he could tell it wasn’t going to be a discussion about how amazing his choreography was for this past show.

“Ryan,” she started, looking at him with a careful expression, “Have you ever thought about going to therapy? I’m sure you have a _wonderful_ voice that will help you in your future musical theater conquests. You just-” she cut herself off as she noticed Ryan’s grimace.

And here he thought that he was going to get out of the building and into summer without even much of a falter. The thing was, Ryan hadn’t spoken in nearly eight years. Not to Sharpay or his parents, and definitely no one at school. Every other day it seemed that Ryan was recommended a different therapist. Adjusting himself so that he would look at least a little bit confident, Ryan quickly sent out a mental call for help.

He proceeded to do three jazz squares in succession while frantically waving his hands and shaking his head. Over the years he and Sharpay had created a language they could use to communicate without having to learn too much ASL. Since Ms. Darbus ran the theatre program, she had picked up a few of the movements. That one in particular meant “I’m fine, Ms. Darbus, my mental health is doing just swell.”

Darbus eyed him in disbelief, before shaking her head and waving him off. “Enjoy your summer, Mr. Evans. Please, do continue to hone your excellent dance skills over the break. Theater waits for no one.” Ryan smiled and waved at her as he headed out the door, where his twin sister was waiting. Today her dress was a blinding hot pink with bits of gold accents. A bit much, in Ryan’s opinion, but his opinion wasn’t often taken into consideration. Especially since his own outfits sometimes bordered on the same levels of insane.

“What was that about?” Sharpay wasn’t even looking at him, staring at herself in her little compact mirror. She knew better than to expect a response and she wasn’t asking for one. As she fixed her lipstick, Ryan leaned against the cold lockers. 

Just then, the neighborhood basketball boys made their rounds in the hallway. With school officially let out for the summer, this was their last chance to assert their manly dominance and testosterone all over the school.

Leading the pack was captain of the basketball boys, Troy. 

He was stupidly egotistical, practically wearing his jersey to school as soon as it was washed. Or maybe sooner. Ryan wouldn’t put it past him. Troy’s walk alone spoke everything a dumb theatre kid who didn’t talk needed to know. Every step was washed over with this suave flick of the wrist, every sway meant to woo the entirety of the student body. Not only that but _holy crap_ Troy Bolton was _hot._

Ryan was definitely part of the student body that Troy had wooed. He really had been head over heels for him up until Gabriella showed up. He would even sneak his way into his basketball games and Ryan knew next to nothing about basketball. Now, however… well, he still _liked_ Troy, but it was clear the blue-eyed wonder was as straight as most other jocks. 

Perhaps that was one of the reasons that Ryan didn’t actually care about the callback results. The knowledge that Troy was doing something that wasn’t considered very manly, that is. Here was a very straight, very masculine guy performing in theater. Good for him for breaking the stereotypes.

Besides, Sharpay was the one who got all the lead singing roles anyway. She quite literally harmonized with herself, teaching herself after realizing Ryan couldn’t sing duets and her not wanting to share the lead roles with anyone else. So Ryan would dance with his sister, not even bothering to lip-sync, as Sharpay basically stole the entire spotlight. It worked fine. Him not dancing with Sharpay this year, considering they were both understudies, let him focus more on choreographing for two non-dancers. He enjoyed it. It was a fun challenge. Sharpay… got over the disappointment.

Besides, Troy and Gabriella always seemed so happy together. In rehearsals, in the halls, at lunch… _everywhere._ It was clear as day they were meant for each other since the callbacks, at the latest. Maybe even from the first day Ryan had seen the two together.

Despite all that, Ryan would never get over Troy’s freaky eyes that could light up an entire room. They were just so… _blue._ They didn’t even look real. Ryan tapped quickly on his sister’s shoulder, causing her to glance just over the top of her mirror.

“Yes?” She flatly asked, her eyes flicking back down to her reflection. Ryan quickly performed one jazz square, then slid into the middle of the hallway whilst being careful to not hit one of the oncoming Wildcats. 

“Troy? Where?” Her voice immediately gained a peppy energy. She flicked her wrist, shutting the mirror, her attention now fully on her twin brother rather than herself. Ryan spun around, extending an arm out to where the beautiful boy stood with his posse.

Troy broke off to talk to Gabriella, who stood at her locker. The whole exchange was rather flat and cutsie, something totally ordinary for the couple. Sadly, they were just perfect for each other. Only they could really benefit from the forever honeymoon relationship.

Sharpay then decided it was time to say goodbye for the summer, flaunting her way over to Gabriella’s locker. Ryan didn’t have much else to do but follow. He had been hoping that it would be a quick walkout. Sure, toss around a few reminders that their family could easily buy the entire school but no meddling in Troy Bolton’s personal life. 

Troy looked at them over Gabriella’s shoulder. “Hey, Evanses.” Anyone could tell that Basketball Boy wanted to be anywhere other than here. Anyone aside from Sharpay, that is.

“Soooo, Troy. What are you doing over the summer?” Sharpay asked. Her voice also raised at least an octave as she always did when she was talking to Troy. 

He looked very uncomfortable. “Well, um, I guess trying to find a job? I’ll need to save up for college and stuff.” Ryan couldn’t relate but the statement was a little more responsible than he had expected seeing as it came from Mr. Impulsive himself.

“Oh no,” Sharpay cooed. “I’m sure any college would claw at each others’ _throats_ just to call you a student there. You wanted to go to U of A, right?”

Troy’s eyes darted quickly around the room as if waiting for someone to jump out and scare him. Ryan saw his mouth gently form the words, “Uh, yeah.” Gabriella had turned around to face Ryan and Sharpay. Her face sported a happy grin. Well, no duh. She seemed to always be smiling, even in situations like these.

“We’ve got to get going,” said Gabriella. “Bye, Sharpay. Ryan.” They left with their hands together and the Wildcats just a few steps behind. 

“ _We’ve got to get going,”_ Sharpay mimicked, raising her voice two octaves from where it normally sat. “Ugh, she’s so _perfect._ Come on, Ryan, I want to get out of here.” She started walking forward, Ryan trailing after her like a baby duck following its mother, before she abruptly stopped. An unholy squeal emitted from her mouth as Ryan ran face-first into her, unable to stop his movement in time.

“Ryan! Watch where you’re going!” She huffed, straightening out the wrinkles on her dress. Ryan stared at her incredulously. _She_ was the one that stopped. He loved his sister to death, but she could be so darn annoying at times. He rolled his eyes at her before reaching up and fixing his hat, which had been flipped around due to the collision.

Without another word, she snatched her phone from her pocket and opened it up. She pressed a button and placed it near her ear, starting to talk almost as soon as it got there.

“Fulton, please hire Troy Bolton at the country club. Yes, _the_ Troy Bolton. I don’t care, Fulton! You work for me! Whatever. It. Takes. I want him to be there. And I get what I want.” With a huff, she shut her phone and started walking, her feet moving incredibly fast.

“Come now, brother! We’ve got to be there when Troy shows up, now don’t we?”


	2. Chapter Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gabriella is a saint, Ryan should rest and Troy learns some new information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys we’re back at it at the Krispy Kreme. Just so you know, this is all pre-written so it’s only a matter of uploading the chapters. A chapter will be uploaded every other day to give you guys some time to read. Anyways, here’s two ~Mop
> 
> I swear, not posting it all at once is taking self-control I don’t have. But Mop gets what Mop wants and you guys get to suffer for a day or two. ~Max

“Ryaaaaannnnnnnnnnn! The fog! The ocean! You missed every cue! And I even  _ told _ you when it was time to move them! Pay attention!” Sharpay stomped her feet like a little child throwing a tantrum. Her features contorted into an ugly scowl before she stormed off towards her Sharpettes. “Run it again!” 

For the past week, Ryan had to endure the torture that was rehearsing with Sharpay. Not to mention that she wanted to do it in front of Troy. Even though he didn’t sing because, well duh, Ryan was bombarded with constantly moving across the stage with every prop imaginable. 

Ever since the Wildcats had been hired at Lava Springs, Sharpay had managed to become even more of a spawn of Satan. Ryan still loved her, obviously, but it was getting tiring. Especially with the hot breath of basketball boys on his back where he thought he would be safe. 

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a wasn’t the most manageable song he’d been tasked with. The extensive costume pieces that included him flipping back his head to become a literal fish made him dizzy. And then there was that quick change. He  _ despised  _ quick changes.

He walked, or more like limped, backstage to take a drink of water before Sharpay made him run around the stage again. Quick changes, and grueling rehearsals with his currently obnoxious sister, were part of show business. Show business was his life. But sometimes his life seemed more Sharpay’s than anything. 

When he failed again at the set changes and moving a heavy piece of wood shaped like a palm tree across the stage, Sharpay called it for the night. 

The twins began the walk back to their separate rooms in the country club. Sharpay eyed him, then sighed. “Sorry about that, Ry. I’m just…” Ryan didn’t look at her, keeping his eyes locked on the ground. The whole mess had freaked him out and he really didn’t need her to start telling him he could’ve done better. His head was spinning, his limbs were feeling attacked by the vicious choreography that had been thrown at them and he really just wanted to sleep. The twins walked in silence before Sharpay draped her arm around Ryan’s shoulders. Slowly, her quiet voice drowned out the aching of his legs. Ryan liked Sharpay’s show stoppers with upbeat choruses and crazy dances but this sweet lullaby was one of his favorites. Though she sometimes attempted to up the tempo, Ryan appreciated that she tried to give him something soothing. 

They split once the twins got to their hallway. Ryan walked into his room and plopped down onto his bed. His eyes fluttered closed as soon as he hit the soft mattress, not even bothering to get under the covers. He adjusted himself so his head could burrow into his pile of pillows before curling his legs into his chest. Nighttime was always so peaceful, mainly because it was devoid of any squawking birds that kept Ryan from the comforting holds of sleep. This was a soothing silence. No loud noises… no screaming Sharpays… if only it could always be like this. Ryan’s own thoughts drifted away, his muscles relaxing as his worries were banished from his room and he fell into the abyss of sleep.

The next morning, Ryan was barely able to open his eyes. It was dangerously bright outside for only… he briefly glanced at the alarm on his right and found it was almost 10:30. Suddenly, the bright sun shimmering in the sky made perfect sense.

Sharpay looked like a wild animal when Ryan finally managed to put on an outfit and pick out his favorite fedora. “Where have you been?” she nearly yelled, her arms flailing around with her curled hair bouncing on her shoulder. 

Ryan managed a jazz square and rubbed at his eyes lazily. Sharpay managed to roll her eyes far back in her head without them falling out of her skull. She wore a bright pink dress like she tended to do. But Sharpay would make sure you knew this one was  _ different _ because it cost forty dollars more than the others did. 

“Yeah, whatever. We need to rehearse again if it’s going to be good enough to convince Troy. Do you know where he is, anyway? It’d be great if you could be useful and  _ find  _ him.” She took off to get into costume and makeup. For a moment, Ryan felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t often that he was on his own without Sharpay. And communicating was a chore. It was much easier when Sharpay was around to translate and he didn’t need to write anything down. Reluctantly, he moved to get breakfast and find Troy Bolton. 

He picked up a breakfast smoothie from one of the staff’s trays and scoured the halls. He came upon an open room that had a rather appealing view of the golf course. Kelsi was sitting at a piano where Troy and Gabriella pranced around making goo-goo eyes at each other. Whether or not Sharpay chose to ignore it, Ryan was very aware Kelsi was crazy good. Stunning songs and accompaniments to back them every time. This one was a duet between the love bugs, upbeat and happy. The harmonies were spectacular for two kids who’d never taken to theatre before last winter. He had to admit they were talented. Ryan had worked his whole life to be able to dance the way he could but Troy and Gabriella seemed to take to it like fish to water. Even if they couldn’t execute a perfect jazz square.

As they finished, Ryan found himself clapping. The three of them turned to him with wide eyes. The room rapidly became smaller and significantly warmer. Gabriella gave him a small wave, her smile dimming slightly. Being the demon of bad timing, Sharpay burst into the room in her full tiki-ensemble. 

“Trooooooyyy!! I’ve been looking for you, big dummy! I need to show you something.” Sharpay tugged at his arm, guiding him out of the door. Troy may have muttered something like ‘my shift starts in a few minutes, Sharpay’, but the girl in question either didn’t hear or didn’t care. Maybe both. 

That left Ryan with Kelsi and Gabriella. He hadn’t ever hung out with them, or many people in general, so he made himself as Sharpay-like as possible, only to look like a jerk. He really didn’t know what else he had expected to get out of that.

“Are you not going too?” The sound of Gabriella’s voice startled him. Many people didn’t actually address him specifically, instead talking to him and Sharpay as a single entity. He made sure to shake his head no before he got lost in thought, something he was sure to do. His entire  _ life  _ consisted of getting lost in his head.

Sharpay’s words bubbled to the top of his thoughts. What ‘ _ something’  _ was Sharpay going to show Troy? What was so important that she could put off rehearsals? She never missed rehearsals for anything. He fiddled with the brim of his hat as his mind swelled with questions. Gabriella and Kelsi seemed confused as to how to continue this conversation. 

“Well, do you want to look at the song?” Kelsi attempted. Ryan slowly nodded and made his way over to the piano. The song was titled  _ You Are the Music in Me _ . “The staff are going to perform it at the Star Dazzle Award. Troy and Gabriella are doing the solos though.”

Looking over it, Ryan was proved right about Kelsi’s skills. Almost instinctively, he placed his hands on the keys and started to churn out the accompaniment. The girls seemed surprised that he even knew how to play. Granted, it wasn’t something he performed in front of people like his dancing. After his fingers finished the tune, the silence from before returned in full force. But this time, it wasn’t awkward. It was the type of silence you got after an emotional performance, or in this case, the type you got after shocking everyone into becoming speechless.

“That was great, Ryan! You should think about playing in the talent show!” Gabriella exclaimed, finally able to get over her shock. Ryan titled his head at her questioningly because obviously he  _ was _ going to be in the talent show. Just, not on the piano. Sharpay wouldn’t like that. “Well, would you like to hang out sometime? I spent rehearsal after rehearsal learning your choreography and I don’t think I’ve ever really  _ talked _ to you.” 

Obviously. Was it so hard to understand that Ryan didn’t speak? But now that he thought about it, what else was Ryan going to do? Sharpay was busy and he exactly didn’t have any other friends. He slowly nodded his head up and down, much to the delight of Gabriella.

She took him out of the room, waving goodbye to Kelsi. The pianist returned a warm smile. He didn’t really know where they were going when Gabriella took a right into a slightly dingier hallway than the others. A door opened to reveal the kitchen where familiar Wildcats busied about. Ah, so this was where they’d been hiding. Working? Probably both. In his defense, Ryan had never been in a kitchen before. He knew it’s where the food gets made, but sometimes he forgot that actual humans cooked the food. Oh, the ramifications of being rich.

They all looked up at the two of them and once again, Ryan was left uneasy. A couple of the other guys on Troy’s team gave him this upsetting quick glance and got back to washing dishes. One of them, Ryan thought his name was Chad, walked up to Gabriella. 

“Have you seen Troy? He hasn’t clocked in and Fulton’s been pretty big on us doing  _ not _ that.” Chad gave a subtle one-over of Ryan, who stood awkwardly at Gabriella’s side. “Why’d you bring theater boy here?”

“He got picked up by Sharpay a little while ago. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. And Ryan wanted to say hi. We are his classmates.” Ryan cringed at the word  _ say _ but halfheartedly waved at Chad in greeting.

Chad didn't seem to take to Ryan anyways. “Well, we’re kinda busy right now. Maybe ballet-slippers can pop in some other time, yeah?” Chad sped across the room to take a dish from one of the tables and walked out of the kitchen. Gabriella’s happy-go-lucky exterior fell.

“Don’t worry, Chad’s not usually like that. He’s just mad Troy’s been a little distant lately.” Ryan wondered why Gabriella wasn’t acting in the same way. Troy was  _ her  _ boyfriend, after all. “Hey, I’ve got to get to the pool, but feel free to stop by and visit whenever you want!” Her smile returned instantly as she waved goodbye, leaving the room after she swiped a card into a device mounted on the wall.

The people around him moved with purpose and that made Ryan feel out of place. They had places to be and people to serve. Watching them work made him feel like a stalker, so Ryan made his way to the exit of the kitchen to find Sharpay. Suddenly, his heart wanted to pop out of his chest and berate Ryan on being an idiot. He didn’t know those people. He wasn’t friends with them, like Gabriella. Maybe he should stay where he belongs- in the rehearsal space with his twin sister. 

After a strenuous hike to the rehearsal space, Ryan was greeted by silence. Huh. Sharpay was supposed to be here by now. Maybe she was still caught up trying to seduce Troy. Yes, that was it. She’d show up eventually, once Troy shook her off.

In the meantime, Ryan slipped off the shoes he had been wearing and got into the tap shoes that lived down here permanently. They used to be in his room, but Sharpay got tired of him tapping all night long and banished them to this cold dungeon.

It had been a while since he had tapped. Sharpay found it annoying and didn’t include it in too many of her performances. When she did, it was typically a short sequence designed for  _ her _ to show off. Tap dancing wasn’t his favorite dance style either, jazz squares clearly took the cake even though it was technically not an actual style. He didn’t care. A performance filled with jazz square after jazz square was his dream in life. However, tap dancing was a nice way to get out energy. 

Ryan started with one of the performances he had been working on with his private instructor. It was fast-paced, as tap dancing tended to be, but counting out the beats in his head always worked. It was clear he hadn’t tapped in a while, as his taps were muddled and he kept messing up some of the harder movements he used to have down. He ended the performance with a pirouette into a dramatic pose, his hands thrown into the air. The lack of applause was disorienting, though he wouldn’t think he deserved it even if there was an audience.

So he started over, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead. When he messed up on one of the step sequences, he started again from the top. He just kept going and going and going until he just collapsed to the floor. 

For one of the first times in months, Ryan felt overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion. He was alone and couldn’t get anything right. Where was Sharpay? He lifted himself onto his knees and briskly turned towards a window in the back of the room that showed the sky looking like a watercolor, the sun beginning to fade into yellows and reds and oranges. Had… had the entire day gone by? Already, tears were gathering near his eyelids. Sharpay had never just ignored him like this. Sure, she may not always have given him all of her attention, but she was always  _ there.  _ Where was she now? Out laughing with Troy? Spending time with a boy that didn’t even like her over spending time with the one who's always been by her side? He slowly brought himself up from the ground, feeling like a puppet pulled by strings. Making a turn towards the door, Gabriella came into view. She looked rather upset too. Her face sagged like a worn dress, falling according to gravity’s wishes. Had Troy never shown up either?

“Ryan? There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed his red-stained cheeks. Her eyes fell on his disregarded shoes and then on the tap shoes on his feet, clearly putting two and two together. “Have you been here all day? Just… dancing? By yourself?” When he didn’t respond, she ran up to him and pulled him into a hug. 

“Next time just hang out by the pool with me, okay?” Ryan found his face resting against Gabriella’s shoulder as she spoke. He really didn’t know what was getting into him. He should just play it off. Sharpay had better things to do than hang around a boy who didn’t do much besides dance next to her. But that truth didn’t convince the tears against swelling down his cheeks, probably ruining Gabriella’s outfit.

“Oh, Ryan… it’s okay. Everyone has bad days. Just let it out.” She pulled him into an even tighter hug, which just made Ryan cry even more. Sharpay never hugged him. His sister might put her arm around his shoulders but that was the most of her physical affection. 

He and Gabriella stood there for what felt like an eternity. When he finally pulled away, Gabriella made a point of grabbing hold of his hands.

“Feeling any better?” Gabriella’s eyes met his as he simply shook his head no. His eyes were burning, his head was pounding and most of all, his sister still wasn’t here. Gabriella let her head fall to the side, her expression almost pitiful. But then, pity became sympathy. The girl before him didn’t look down at him, instead holding Ryan beside her. “Well… here. Some of the other Wildcats were planning on taking part in the staff baseball game next week. Do you want to come? You don’t have to play if you don’t want to, just come sit with me in the stands.”

Ryan hadn’t played baseball in years. The thought of playing again probably made him visibly pale. However, Ryan felt more welcome with Gabriella than he had with almost anyone. Sharpay probably didn’t count. Maybe it was time to get out of his comfort zone for a bit while his sister was busy with Troy. 

So Ryan made what could be the most important decision of his life. He nodded, slowly but not unsure. Gabriella’s mouth quickly sparked into a smile, her eyes glimmering.

“Trust me, you’ll have a bunch of fun.” She placed her arm across his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. “But for the meantime, you look like you could use something to eat.”

Gabriella led him out of the room, his tap shoes clicking against the tile floor. He turned to see her shaking her head with a smile. “Tap dancing  _ all day. _ Only you, Ryan. Only you.” Ryan felt a grin growing on his face and quickly tilted his head to the other side.

“Gabriella?” 

Troy is standing in the hallway, his eyebrows lifted towards the roof. Suddenly Ryan is aware of how close he must seem to Gabriella. Them being together probably meant Troy didn’t see this as being friends. Which, haha, hell no. Ryan had known for years that women were not his thing. In order to stop Troy from storming off and Gabriella to have to deal with something she didn’t do, Ryan stepped forward so he was face-to-face to Basketball-Bolton himself. 

Of course, Ryan realized then he had no way to talk to Troy. So he gestured back to Gabriella and wildly shook his head in an attempt to stop whatever train of thought Troy was over-analyzing at the moment. In a leap of faith, Ryan suddenly decided to point at Troy. He prayed to whatever God or gods existed that Troy could understand what was happening. Troy’s expression turned to that of a puppy when you try to tell it no for the first time. He kept pointing to himself and mouthing the word ‘me?’ at Gabriella. His eyes flickered from side to side until the blood rushed out of his head and he froze in place. The boy was in complete shock, staring directly at Ryan, who quickly lowered his head and stared at his shoes. The last thing he needed right now was to be looking into those eyes of his. When he lifted his head again, Troy was no longer staring at him but was still clearly uncomfortable.

Great. Now the entire school would probably shun him- more than they already did- because he had a stupid gay-crush on perhaps the most popular guy on the basketball team. Ryan let his arms sag. He glanced back at Gabriella, who mouthed something along the lines of ‘are you okay’. Ryan shrugged, his eyes downcast. Her concerned expression suddenly shifted to one of rage as she suddenly rushed up to Troy. 

“Troy, where have you been?” And woah. Since when was Gabriella able to sound  _ mad?  _ Ryan had legitimately thought she was incapable. 

The boy shifted in his shoes. “Uh, you know how Sharpay is. She wouldn’t let me go,” Troy laughed uncertainly. His bright blue eyes, those crazy stupid eyes, searched the room for a better excuse. 

“Oh. Yeah.”

Gabriella and Troy stared at each other, then at the floor. Ryan stood beside them and somehow in a completely different building at the same time. He taped on Gabriella’s shoulder and waved goodbye. She gave him another hug and wished him a good night. Troy didn’t take his gaze off of Gabriella as Ryan followed them down the hall, before breaking off and heading toward his own room.

This summer was supposed to be his, Ryan thought. A break from people constantly treating him as Sharpay, the mute boy version. So far, his break had actually been more like school ramped up to infinity. 

A little more than halfway to his room, he realized with a shock that today is family dinner day.  _ Crap.  _ At this point, he knows he’s going to be late, if he’s not already. He leaped around and started sprinting towards the dining hall, wobbling from one side of the hall to the other. He reaches the main lobby, his head pounding even more than before. He’s more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life, his hands on his knees as he struggled for air.

“Mr. Evans?” He whipped around to see Fulton standing by the dining hall. Somehow, Ryan felt more intimidated than he had never been by his own father. Fulton was just a scary person in general. Ryan tried to take a step forward but found his legs were just too worn out to move. He rested his hands on his legs again, not ready to wave hello at the family he clearly meant nothing to. The sound of footsteps pattered toward him before a rag and water bottle were held in front of his eyes. He lifted his chest back up, gratefully taking the water bottle and drowning it in one go. Fulton swiftly removes it from his grip and pats some of the sweat off Ryan’s forehead. This struck Ryan as odd-- Fulton’s wasn’t a butler. It wasn’t his job to take care of him. Stuck in thought, he hardly even noticed Fulton corralling him through the door of the dining hall and to where his family sat. 

He’s incredibly underdressed and he knows it, but before his father can bring it up, Ryan’s eyes fell on the extra presences at the table. Men he’s never seen before in his life were sitting with his family. He’s so confused. His family never sat with anyone. He scoots around the edge of the extended table and takes his seat next to someone in a tux.

He glanced at the person next to him, ready to hear a long winded story on how he was the son of Ryan’s father’s colleague's friend, only to find a familiar set of blue eyes staring back at him. Ryan quickly stared back down at the table, cheeks burning. Of course Troy was going to be at his family's dinner. Because Sharpay just couldn’t get enough of him. Ryan sighed, fighting off the urge to place his elbows on the table.

This was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter Tre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Derby Evans is rightfully worried, a wild Chad appears with a baseball bat and Ryan deals with new feelings for a new Wildcat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So finally Chad is a character. Yay. Also, we finally fix what has been broken since 2007: the epic(ally homoerotic) Lava Springs Staff Baseball Game. Also, the plot starts to deviate from the original movie so heads up. ~Mop
> 
> Alert alert: the bush has arrived! Repeat: the human bush has arrived! ~Max

“Ducky, are you in your room again? You haven’t come out in nearly a week now.”

Ryan shoved his head farther into his bed. He didn’t need to be reminded about how he hadn’t left the comforts of his own room. It had been bad enough that Sharpay decided she didn’t like hanging out with him. Then he had to screw it all up and tell Troy he had a crush on him. Dealing with current problems was too hard at that moment.

“Ducky, baby, you haven’t been to yoga with me in a while either. Why don’t you get your yoga pants and come with me to the gym?” Ryan could tell his mom was actually trying. Her voice had quieted down to a whisper, just barely brushing past his ears. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go out for a minute and stretch. Somehow he had managed to stave off dancing for the entire week he’d been hiding away. Stretching would help his cramping muscles. 

He stood up and reached into his rather large closet for acceptable clothes to be seen in public. Once he found a nice shirt, Ryan went to find a hat that would go with his yoga pants. He decided on a plain white and navy striped newsboy cap. If they could stay on the ever-moving heads of the boys in Newsies, this one could certainly handle a little yoga.

The room was darker than most of the others in Lava Springs. An instructor led the class from the front and sometimes ran around to help the struggling patrons with their poses. Ryan and his mother took a spot towards the middle. She took out a towel with Derby embroidered in swirly cursive font across the bottom.

Ryan rolled out his yoga mat as his mother gave him a sad lookover. He let out a sigh, he really didn’t want to do this today. 

“So. Sharpay is doing the Star Dazzle with the kid from dinner the other night. Troy Bolton, yes? What happened to your tiki song? I liked the costumes you were planning out.” Derby gave him a sad smile while stretching out her back to form a downward dog. “Did you decide not to do it this year, Ducky?”

He considered just going along with his mother’s take on the situation. Then she wouldn’t continue the constant nagging. And Sharpay for going for her dreams. Ryan had known he was going to get left behind eventually. Just not here and not now-- maybe once Julliard came knocking, begging Sharpay to attend. But then again, this was his mother. Derby Evans was a gentle soul. So he shook his head, telling the truth, but returned the smile. 

“Are you going to do your own act, then? If dancing solo isn’t your thing, I do remember something about you being an incredible pianist.” Ryan gave a slow nod and adjusted his feet so he could lift his arm into the air. 

Just then, Gabriella burst into the room with her eternal bubbly energy bouncing off the walls. “Ryan! Please tell me you haven’t been tap dancing this entire week.” Derby gave Ryan a look, her eyebrows raised up to her hairline. “Oh, I didn’t know you did yoga! I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’ve never had the time. That’s cool that you do though. Maybe come get me the next time you’re planning on taking a class. I’d love to do it with you!” Gabriella seemed, somehow, a lot more excited than she normally was, leading Ryan to believe this wasn’t about him doing yoga. His mom had adopted a blinding smile that was all teeth. Most people didn’t really like the way she tended to show her gums when they took family photos. Ryan found it endearing.

Despite all odds, Gabriella managed to smile with her whole body. “Oh! I came in here to pick you up for the baseball game. We’re starting in about half an hour. Just wanted to let you know so you could change.” Gabriella lifted up Ryan from his position on the floor and brought him into a hug. He’d have to start counting how many times she hugged a single person a day. 

His mother managed to catch his gaze. Her eyes looked to be watering. That was Derby, too emotionally involved in her children’s lives. Silently, Derby mouthed ‘baseball?’ and Ryan nodded subtly. She waved him off to go back to his room to get out of his yoga pants.

When he returned, now wearing an outfit a bit more suitable for a game of baseball, Gabriella pulled him into one of the club’s golf carts. He had realized a little too late that matching his hat meant wearing a full white outfit. Ryan just hoped it wouldn’t get too dirty. “Hold on!” She shouted before putting the pedal to the metal and all of a sudden the cart felt like it was flying. Now, Ryan couldn’t believe he thought Sharpay drove fast. He was enjoying it but he also thought he was about to die and oh god he really was going to die as the cart hopped over hills. Then a weird acceptance of his fate overtook him as he realized that dying might be better than facing Troy’s jock friends. If he jumped out of the cart into the pavement… no, he promised Gabriella, didn’t he? Now Ryan would have to deal with the consequences for falling for her stupidly amazing charm. 

The cart took a sharp turn and nearly ran over a few guests. Taylor popped into existence out of nowhere and climbed into the cart. 

“Ryan, huh? Didn’t know he even played sports,” Taylor said as she climbed into the back. Gabriella tilted her head and gave a little smirk. 

“He does  _ yoga _ , Taylor. Did you know that?” Gabriella was practically the equivalent of a less annoying dog whistle. Though unexpected, Ryan didn’t think it was the worst to come out of his summer. Taylor rolled her eyes and braced herself for Gabriella to start the cart. 

The three of them pummeled into the grass and Gabriella let out a little bouncy laugh. Ryan’s sister never really laughed for herself, he realized. It was usually for show or to let everyone know she was plotting one of her evil schemes. While that would be problematic if she ever actually wanted to successfully pull off one of them, it still meant that Ryan hadn’t experienced many people laughing because one of the tires might’ve blown on a rock. It was nice. 

Eventually, they pulled up to the dugouts for the baseball fields. Most of the wildcats and extra staff had already arrived. Some were pulling out bats and throwing around a ball. Ryan realized that they must’ve heard about him and Troy as they turned to sneak a look at him. Of course he had told them. Ryan hadn’t even succeeded to be confident while spilling his heart out and Troy decided that this was his secret to tell. He let out a tired sigh. Might as well prepare for a couple of slurs to be thrown around. This was Albuquerque, after all, not a pride parade.

“Hey, I thought this was a staff-only game, Gabriella! Why’d you bring Sharpay’s puppet?” One of the Wildcats yelled across the field. It was met with a chorus of laughter and a few ‘yeah, why’s the mute here?’ Ryan suddenly felt like sinking into the sand and staying there for eternity. This was too much attention directed towards him- yeah, he was a theater kid, but on stage was Ryan Evans, the performer. Right now he was Ryan Evans, the freaky mute gay kid. And this Ryan Evans did not like the spotlight.

Gabriella stood beside him, her face showing how upset she was. A couple of the Wildcats visibly flinched. “He’s playing, okay guys? Ryan isn’t Sharpay’s puppet, he’s a  _ person  _ with  _ feelings. _ ”

“Feelings for Troy Bolton, you mean.” The mutter came from somewhere in the pack of Wildcats and left everyone frozen.

Ryan shriveled up in his clothes, letting out a shaky breath. It was going to happen sooner or later, he told himself. Better now than at school. Though this was basically school anyway, wasn’t it? The kids, the constant feeling of disapproval. Sharpay always leaving him for Troy. He had Gabriella now, for some reason, but how far could that get him? Dammit, he was going to start crying and this was not the time at all. 

The kid with the crazy hair- Chad?- steps to the front. “Guys, lay it off. He’ll probably strike out in seconds anyway, he’s not gonna mess up our game.”

That’s when Ryan quirked an eyebrow. “What, ballet-slippers? You think you can beat a team of Wildcats?” Chad rolls his eyes and turns around, leading his team to their dugout. Ryan, on the other hand, just stands there, a cocky smirk growing on his face. He was so ready to show these boys he could play. There would be no mercy.

For the first time since her abandonment, Ryan was glad to have Sharpay in his life. Because if there was one thing she taught him, it was to  _ never _ play nice. He stormed onto the field, where the appointed umpire was calling for captains. Players from the team he just made himself captain of eyed him in disbelief. 

“How are we supposed to follow a guy who can’t speak?” Someone behind him mumbled. Ryan ignored it and stared instead, at Chad and his team.

When Chad was thrown a bat, Ryan made a deal out of putting his hand above Chad’s. When Chad caught on, they played a little game. Ryan tuned out all the other people oohing and awing, focusing solely on Chad’s face. It made Ryan almost burst in pride when he managed to put his hand on the top of the bat, which led to Chad taking on this almost pouty look. The pout beautifully transforms into a challenging smirk. 

From one Wildcat to another, it seemed.

Ryan broke from the staring contest to walk over to his team. As someone who was supposedly going to strike out ‘within seconds’, he had gotten his own team without much protest. They were starting in the field, it seemed. Ryan tried to keep the confidence he remembered from his days as a little league pitcher. Before he could even get his team to the dugout, Chad grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

“For the record, everyone at East High had a crush on Troy at some point or another. You’re not alone, brother,” Chad mumbled into his ear before releasing the boy. He walked away without another word, leaving Ryan hopelessly confused. Did… was Chad talking about  _ himself _ ? Or was that just some stupid straight guy advice?

Gabriella and Taylor had disappeared to the stands so they could cheer him on. Or at least, Ryan hoped. The teams organized themselves and Chad kept looking over his shoulder to glare at Ryan. When he stepped onto the mound, Ryan received no protest. Great. This would be easy, then. 

Of course, Chad is up to bat first. A prideful Wildcat like him wouldn’t give up the chance to show off against someone who damaged his reputation. Ryan grinned at him before heaving his arm forward, getting the ball to soar towards the catcher. Chad took a swing and missed, the look on his face priceless. Yes, Ryan could get used to that.

Chad managed to hit the ball a little past second base on his second pitch. The second the ball was in the air, he sprinted like he might die if he didn’t. Ryan turned around quickly but found him already at first. It seemed that Chad isn’t too bad either. And here Ryan thought that this was just a jock who thought being good at one sport meant being good at all of them. Careful to not let him steal, Ryan took his attention back to the new person at-bat. 

A couple of innings went by with Ryan and Chad both prancing around the bases more than once. Gabriella dropped into the dugout to give them water. Quite a few times, Chad walked over to Ryan’s team dugout. 

“So, I guess I underestimated you, huh?” he said once between innings. Ryan rolled his eyes. “Still doesn’t mean you’re any better than me, Mr. Clean.”

Ryan took that moment to gesture to the scoreboard. He was winning by four runs. Chad’s face turned sour, but he continued his flaunting. 

“Doesn’t mean we can’t turn it around. I’ve won games in the last five minutes tons of times before. I don’t think that theatre can be ‘won’ in the last inning, Troy Boy.”

Ryan didn’t appreciate the call back to the absent Wildcat. But he was caught up in the moment, so he let it slide. Gabriella rushed in then looking a little red, probably from sitting outside all day. Each step was a bounce and she practically wiggled in place. Ryan never knew how much energy she had. It probably helped her with her role in the winter musical. 

“Ryan! I didn’t know you were  _ so  _ good. Even Taylor is impressed. And believe me, that’s hard to do.” Then Gabriella deflated a tad and looked up at Ryan in hope. “Look, I didn’t want to push this on you, but ever since Troy um… started hanging out more with Sharpay, the Wildcats haven’t really been ecstatic to perform in the staff act. I thought you could help us? You’re so great at dancing, you and Kelsi could create a piece for us! Please?” 

From beside Ryan, Chad shifted his posture. “Gabi, I don’t think that’s gonna work out. This is Troy’s thing, not ours.” He made sure that Gabriella knows that ‘ours’ means ‘mine’ by putting his hand on his chest. “Besides, I don’t dance. I’d rather caddy for Sharpay than be in the Sun Glitter show.”

Ryan hit him over the shoulder. For a second, he’d felt like he'd crossed a line. But when Gabriella stifled a laugh, Ryan felt encouraged. He quickly did two jazz squares, then slid to his left. Chad and Gabriella didn’t understand, of course, thinking it was just Ryan showing off, but Sharpay would laugh and know it actually meant moron. Though, originally, it had also meant Troy. At some point, the two got separated as Ryan would on occasion call Sharpay a moron, but she would mistake it as Troy and light up like a Christmas tree. Definitely not the intended effect.

“Okay, how about this,” Chad propositioned, his smile returning. “You win, you choreograph us a performance. If I win, no performance. At all. And you go back to hanging out with your psycho of a sister. Gabi doesn’t need to pity you.” Gabriella opened her mouth to argue with the last point before shutting it at a look from Chad.

Game on. Ryan offered his hand and Chad shook it. Gabriella looked like she might explode with happiness. 

The game continued with more ferocity than it had begun with. Chad made it his mission in life to bat as often as he could against Ryan. When Ryan was on home base with a bat in his hand, he gripped it tight. He was going to win and Chad would have to deal with it. 

His ploy to destroy Chad wasn’t helped by the fact that Ryan would sometimes get lost staring at the boy from the dugout. Not that it wasn’t hard. The more he stared at his hair, the more Ryan came to like the lion’s mane that sat on Chad’s head. Not to mention how Chad would sometimes pause and  _ let  _ Ryan look at him. It was like he was showing off between pitches, with stretches that lifted the hem of his shirt to show a bit of luxurious dark skin. Chad gave off so many mixed signals Ryan thought he was a broken phone tower. 

Which begged the question: was Chad straight? Ryan didn’t have that kind of luck. He was the hopelessly in love with straight dudes he knew he’d never be with guy, not the crushing on gay dudes guy. 

“Hey, Evans! You’re up!” Ryan quickly pushed any thoughts of Chad’s sexuality down as he flipped a bat into his hand. He had a game to win. As he walked, he glanced up at the scoreboard.  _ 8-8. Bottom of the 8th. _

Not only was that quite poetic, but it meant Chad had kept his promise to make a comeback. Damn Chad.

“Looks like you’re in trouble there, Troy Boy,” Chad called as Ryan took his place in the batter’s box. Ryan snorted, then in a moment of complete confidence, pointed his bat towards the outfield wall, the universal signal for ‘I’m going to hit a home run, so you better back up, idiots’. Chad shook his head, a smirk crossing over his  _ stupidly perfect  _ features. Ryan watched as Chad prepared himself to pitch, winding back on his feet. Every second building up to the swing was tense but it paid off when the ball went flying above Chad’s head and out of the field. Ryan had let himself stare at Chad’s jaw dropping then sprinted around the bases. 

The kid on second made it to home plate within seconds and Chad had a hard time keeping track of Ryan dancing about the bases. He’d jazz squared at least once and probably said Troy. No one would know, anyway.

He sauntered over to home base with the opposing team staring at him like he had just descended from a UFO. Now it was Chad’s turn. 

The top of the ninth inning was rather boring. Chad spent most of it in his dugout but took a stroll outside towards the end. He hit a ball far out into the field at one point, which caused some hassle for Ryan. But he had managed to get the ball back and tag Chad out at home. If Chad and Ryan ended up on the ground in a somewhat compromising position, that’s not the point. He was going to win. And one strikeout later, he did.

His teammates, the ones who didn’t even like him before the game, started patting him on the back and cheering his name. Everything ended with Chad sulking away from the field. Though he had used her methods of fake confidence, Ryan wasn’t Sharpay. Not in the slightest. So he followed Chad quietly since that was the only way he could.

“Alright, Evans. How come I’ve been on the baseball team for three years and have never seen you at try-outs? Where did you get  _ that  _ good without playing anybody?”

Ryan shrugged then sighed. He gestured at Gabriella, hoping he’d just be able to leave.

“Nuh-uh, twinkle toes. I want  _ answers. _ ” Ryan glared at him and motioned towards the stands again. After a moment of unconventional staring in an empty field, Ryan accepted that Chad wasn’t going to give up. He quickly grabbed the Wildcat’s wrist and pulled him towards a golf cart to whistles from the other boys.

Gabriella waved goodbye, an expression of confusion taking over her face, as Ryan sped the cart towards the main building.

“Why do I feel like I’m about to get kidnapped?”

Ryan swerved the cart without meaning to, his breathing growing quicker and quicker. No, he wasn’t kidnapping Chad. That- that was a  _ joke _ . People do that. Chad meant nothing wrong. Ryan held the steering wheel tighter and pushed on the gas. 

“Woah, buddy, slow down. You know I was joking, right? I know you wouldn't actually do that.” And if Ryan thought he couldn’t fall any harder, he’d just been proven wrong and fell face-first into the metaphorical dirt. Chad’s voice had become less care-free and gently floated past his ears. Obviously, he had to suddenly get a crush on the guy whose voice sounded like a lullaby on-command. That _was_ his bad luck. Not to mention he’d apologized without even asking to. Chad just… knew something was wrong. So far, he was leagues above Sharpay. 

As soon as the cart parked, Ryan scrambled out hoping to drop to the ground like a rag doll. Chad followed with concern, something usually foreign for any wildcat. 

Speaking of concerning, Sharpay approached them from the pool. She hadn’t been swimming though, since Troy followed behind her in full costume. Thinking back to how Troy basically just outed him to the entire basketball team and more, Ryan couldn’t find it in himself to feel bad for him. 

Sharpay took one look at the two of them and knew something was up. There was this strange look in her eyes when Sharpay managed to be defensive of her brother. 

“ _ Why  _ have you been avoiding me?” Wait, no, nevermind. Of course that was what she thought of this. Ryan avoiding Sharpay, not the other way around. 

“Look, dude, we’ve been busy.” Chad intervened. Ryan’s knight in shining armor. “He’s got a mean swing if you know what I mean.” Sharpay and Troy both looked at Ryan and it was evident that no, they did not know what he meant. So Ryan took it upon himself to reenact his homerun, swinging his hands like he held a bat. 

“I thought you swore off playing baseball, Ry. And look at what you’ve done to that outfit!” She waved a hand at his dirt-covered clothing, her nose scrunching in horror.

Ryan pocketed his hands while looking down at his now not-white pants. In an effort to stop this awkward conversation, he pulled Chad along towards the front door of Lava Springs. He missed the look Troy threw at them, which wasn’t fond in any way. 

When they got inside, Chad laughed. “Damn, I forgot how much of a drama queen she was. Oh, wait, no I didn’t.” He took a hand and lightly nudged Ryan’s chest with it. Ryan took that moment to suddenly go red with no reason besides hot boy being touchy. 

“Mr. Danforth! Where do you think you’re going?” Chad and Ryan both froze as Fulton’s voice streamed into their ears.

“Hey, Fulton… Ryan- er, that is, Mr. Evans just wanted to show me something. I thought it was rude to just ignore our guests.” 

“Mr. Evans? You must be joking, no one’s seen-” Fulton made his way to the front of the boys, only to see that Chad was, in fact, with Ryan. He sighed, throwing his hand into the air. “You disappear for a week and then you steal one of my waiters. You’re... ugh.” He rushed over to him and wrapped him in a hug. “Don’t do that again, you hear me.” He pulled away and straightened the wrinkles on his shirt, before turning Chad. “Go on, don’t let me stand in your way.” With that, he hurried away, leaving two very confused teens in his wake.

“Fulton, being  _ nice?  _ Damn Ryan, you  _ are  _ a charmer.” Chad laughed, punching him in the arm. Ryan replied by pushing him to the side just a bit in return and speeding down to his room.

Opening the door, Ryan suddenly realized he had perhaps the gayest room on the planet. With the mirror in the corner and perfectly made bed, as well as the walls being a pretty baby blue. His two closet doors were even open, one revealing an array of hats and dance shoes and the other, assortments of over-the-top shirts and pants. Even his trash from the pre-made meals he had been eating all week was neatly placed in a trashcan. Chad didn’t seem to mind and gave a low whistle. “Wow. The whole suite, huh? I bet if you wanted to, you could convince your parents to give you a whole section of the club.” Ryan sped across the room to grab a clipping of a newspaper he had saved for years. It had been one of his only sports achievements, so it meant a lot in the eyes of his father. He handed it to Chad. 

“Rhode Island Redcoats win the Little League World Series… hold up. Is that you?” He flipped the paper around and pointed to a smiling boy on the front.

Ryan nodded. He hated the way his hair stood out to the side in places it definitely wasn’t supposed to. Hadn’t his parents thought to brush it back before the picture?

Chad took one last look at the picture then focused his eyes on Ryan. Quicker than Ryan could catch on, Chad snatched his hat right off of his head and tossed it to the floor. For the second time that day, Chad Danforth had sent him into a spiraling mess. What if he had hat hair? And Chad didn’t like it? Or, even worse, somehow this was all some ploy to mess with Ryan?

A red baseball cap was put in the place of the newsboy one. The same hat Chad had worn throughout the baseball game. “You know what, that actually looks really cute on you. Keep it.” With that, Chad stormed out the door, not giving Ryan a chance to respond.

Alone and decidedly very confused, Ryan went to pick up his other hat. 

“Hey, sport, never seen that one before.” Ryan’s dad passed by the room like he hadn’t definitely seen a guy employee stalk out just before. He nodded at Ryan, who was flustered beyond repair, and continued walking. 

Chad would be the end of him. Ryan sunk into his bed, ready to hole up in his room for another week. 

He was just too gay to go back out into the world. But, on the flip side, a certain Danforth was out in that world. No, this homosexual was going to get up and leave his room tomorrow. Ryan smiled into his pillow like an idiot, imagining what would happen when he made a visit to the kitchen.

It was sure to include gay thoughts.

  
_ Lots  _ of gay thoughts.


	4. Chapter Vier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Derby's gaydar is tingling, Chad is trying too hard to be straight and Ryan can't play golf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half-way there! Woo. Again, some plot deviation from HSM2 but like, that's necessary sometimes. Then again... it does seem like Max and I just take out parts that we like and don't include stuff we didn't... eh it's fine. The story might suffer, but we'll be fine cause Chyan. ~Mop
> 
> Hi guys, gals and non-binary pals- oh shoot, wrong fandom. Anyway, it's Ryan time. Enjoy. ~Max

“Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in.” Chad grinned as Ryan treaded into the kitchen. “Hey, pretty boy. How’s it going?” He paused for a second when he noticed Ryan was wearing the ball cap from yesterday.

“I think you’re breaking a law or something, wearing the same hat twice in a row.” Ryan’s smile grew wider as he dramatically took a bow. A few of the other Wildcats chuckled as they passed by with loads of dishes. 

Chad leaned on one of the counters behind him. “Busy day. Gabriella’s on duty at the pool, though, if you wanted to see her.” Ryan shook his head almost violently, causing Chad to laugh lightly. “Yeah, okay. But, uh, when was that whole rehearsal thing? So I can miss it.” Hitting someone lightly on the arm seemed totally normal to Ryan now, when just a few days ago even touching someone would feel strange. 

Taking a piece of paper from one of the note pads used for customer’s orders, Ryan scribbled down a time that he knew they would be having one of their breaks. He had to go snooping around for that one. Lava Springs apparently tended to overwork their staff. Chad glanced at the time and turned around to tell the rest of the Wildcats. 

“I thought you were joking when you said Ryan was choreographing for us. Are we sure he’s not just here to spy on us for his sister?” A larger girl- Martha, Ryan believed- stepped forward, eyeing Ryan suspiciously.

“Hey, if he can dance as well as he can play ball then I’ll give him a chance. Plus, I don’t think Sharpay would want him anywhere near a kitchen if he were a spy. She freaked out when he got dirt on his clothes. Imagine the reaction if we spilled something on him.”

Martha gave Ryan a once-over and a small smirk. “ _That_ I can believe. Okay, fine. But it better be top-quality.” Ryan rolled his eyes. He’d been doing this choreography-dancing thing before he had even moved to Albuquerque. _Of course_ it was going to be top-quality. 

The kitchen emptied out except for the odd cook chopping at vegetables. Chad looked over to Ryan. “Don’t worry, they’re just jealous that you have _two_ personality traits.” Ryan jokingly raised an eyebrow, not sure if that was a joke or a compliment or somewhere in between. Chad nodded, picked up a tray, and walked out to serve some snobby rich guy. Ryan tended to forget he was, technically, a snobby rich guy and liked to make fun of others for being snobby and rich. His self-awareness was low even though he couldn't speak and was often stuck in his own head where the only person he could converse with was himself. You would think that would make him understand that he was a rich guy and maybe not to be a hypocrite. It didn’t. He was still a snooty privileged kid that spent his entire summer at his parent’s country club. He denied it because Ryan, the pushy beneficiary didn’t have the same ring as Ryan, the mute theater kid or, his personal favorite, Sharpay but Male.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Ryan went to stand in the corner of the room. He watched as several times Chad went back and forth between giving out food and getting more. Every time, Chad gestured wildly in every possible direction and ended with a sloppy wink towards Ryan. Chad changed from Annoying Straight to the Acts Super Gay but Probably Protests He’s Straight. Trademarked. 

As he often did, Troy burst into the room. Ryan noticed his slightly higher-tier staff clothes. Fancy Italian shoes, nice. For a moment, Ryan wondered what brand he’d been given, as Troy clearly didn’t buy those himself. Chad walked through the large swinging doors only to stop in his tracks at the sight of Basketball Boy. 

“Hey, guys. I came in for lunch?” One of the staff swerved around Troy, dropping a plate of fries haphazardly into his hands. Then Troy disappeared into the sea of working Wildcats. Ryan almost felt bad. It probably wasn’t his fault Sharpay was trying to make him her puppet. Chad placed a burger on his plate but that was perhaps the only other interaction Troy got before he was shunned out of the kitchen.

Chad angrily walked to Ryan’s side beside the sink, which was slowly getting on his nerves for constantly dripping water with a soft _plink_. “So, rehearsal, then?”

* * *

“I almost wish you _were_ a spy for Sharpay. Then I wouldn’t have to do this dance and pass out at the show,” Zeke joked, pouring his water over his head. A chorus of tired laughter followed.

“How have you barely even broken a sweat?” Ryan smiled, pointing at his wrist to indicate they hadn’t been dancing for all that long. “Lots of practice?” Sure. That too. He gave them all a minute, before nodding at Kelsi. She smirked and started to drone out a tune as Ryan sat back, fixed his colorful fedora, and watched the chaos unfold.

He had been pleasantly surprised that many of them weren’t too bad. Not too great either, but better than Ryan had anticipated. Gabriella had remembered how to do some of the steps from earlier that year. Jason had collapsed on the ground at some point, but Ryan would find a way to incorporate that into the show. For some reason, the crowd loved death drops. Ryan personally despised them, but if Jason was going to faint, at least it would seem like it was part of the dance.

Chad decided to stop dancing whenever he had the chance. At first, it was probably sincere, but the Wildcat made a deal of it once he realized it meant Ryan would give him a bit more attention than everyone else. Or so Ryan hoped. He _really_ hoped. 

At one point, he just straight up refused to move. Not just refusing to dance, but refusing to even walk out of the way. He just stood there, becoming an obstacle for everyone else. So Ryan took it upon himself to move him.

Taylor, who had been his dance partner, backed off with a smirk when Chad realized he would have to dance with Ryan. She walked over to the side of the room and sat next to Kelsi. 

Despite having the world’s worst crush, Ryan extended his hand for Chad to take. He did, though reluctantly. When Kelsi began playing the piece for the dance break Ryan and Chad skipped across the room. 

“You’re not gonna make me dance the girl part, are you?” Chad genuinely sounded scared. How cute. Ryan gripped on his partner’s arms and swung him around in circles. The crowd parted so that Ryan and Chad could throw themselves into the center and make fools of themselves. Or, one of themselves, more like. Ryan wasn’t an idiot when it came to prancing around the room like a swan.

After bouncing off the walls, Ryan let himself jazz square around the room. The piano stopped but the staff continued to yell to the tempo. He probably said a thousand incoherent things, and Troy certainly one of them, but he couldn’t find the room to care. Stopping was a chore. Kelsi winked at him as he finished his rounds and watched the Wildcats from the front of the room. He waved at Taylor to go join them, but she just stood there and stared at him. 

“Okay guys, that was great!” Gabriella yelled across the room. Everyone screamed in the form of a reply. “How about we stop for the day, though? I’m sure we all have shifts in a few minutes.” the crowd grumbled but picked up their bags. Taylor and Gabriella left with Kelsi by their sides but Chad stood in the middle of the room, looking lost in thought. 

Ryan sauntered by his side, waving a hand in front of his face. Chad noticeably relaxed when the silent boy put his palm on his shoulder. “You know, I don’t think I got all of that. I don’t have another shift for half an hour… maybe I could have a private lesson?” If Chad turned out to not be gay, Ryan might as well throw himself in a pit of lava.

They stood side by side, going through the routine again. Ryan told himself that Chad needed the extra help whenever his touches would linger a little too long to be considered platonic. This was so that the show wouldn’t end up being Chad tripping over half the stage. Definitely not an excuse to be close to him in ways he’d never thought he could’ve before. No, of course not. 

Chad tried to replicate one of his jazz squares to no avail. Ryan nudged his feet into the right places and Chad would nudge right back. Though he didn’t know it, the Wildcat had said his first word in jazz square. ‘Bathroom’, how fitting. When they practiced Chad’s slower partner dance, Ryan put his hands on the other’s waist. Together they waltzed to silent, slow jazz. He had been leaning in, hadn’t he? Ryan couldn’t remember. 

He’d even let Chad lift him up like he would Taylor, which was something Ryan couldn’t say he’d done for everyone. Mostly since he only danced with Sharpay and she would never lift Ryan, as it was undignified and she simply didn’t have the muscle for it. It wasn’t a big deal. Except maybe it was. Maybe all of this was a means to an end, a way to be close to someone without having to deal with Sharpay’s currently nasty attitude. Simply a way to get out of his comfort zone. 

“You’re gonna have to throw yourself a royal ball now, huh? And here I thought that you couldn’t get any more talented. Just- make sure you don’t dance with someone who can’t figure out how to count to eight on a beat.” Chad let himself trip over one of Ryan’s feet then, laughing as he fell down. “Just means more private dance lessons if I want to even be considered to waltz with you, your highness.”

See, that was when he realized that no, this wasn’t a silly game. This entire situation was doomed to leave Ryan heartbroken. Certainly wouldn’t be the first time. But for now, Ryan could just let himself get lost in the moment and dance. 

When Chad finally realized he was two minutes late to his shift in the kitchen, Ryan withdrew quickly. Ripping off a band-aid, almost. Swift and painless. Loud feet dashing down the hall quieted to a murmur until fading altogether. He was then left alone in the practice room to pick up his bag and chug all the water he had available to drink, feeling light and airy. 

A buzzing in his pocket told Ryan his sister had texted him. **game of golf @ 3** , it read. **ill even make sure to get that basket bal kid you like dont u be late**. Sighing, Ryan pocketed the phone again. Seriously, what did the world have against him recently? He took his bag back to his room without caring to put anything away. Going to golf with Sharpay, and probably his parents too meant changing into something that his sister would approve of. Simple green button-up and cap it was. If Chad was going to be there too- and knowing Sharpay, he might not be; he wouldn’t put it past her to get Chad mixed up with someone else- dressing to impress might make the situation less real. 

He met up with his mother a few rooms down in the dining room greeting guests. When Ryan strode to her side, Derby smiled politely at the people she had been talking to. 

“Dear me, I forgot my family and I were going to golf today,” she said pleasantly. It took a moment to realize that she must’ve been told by Sharpay about this at dinner when Ryan didn’t attend. Otherwise, Derby couldn’t have known anything about that. Yet another thing Sharpay did without telling Ryan until too late. Yet another sigh projected towards his sister. “You should go if you have the time. Caddy’s aren’t even too expensive, either. But my Ryan here is a natural.” His mother’s hand gravitated toward his shoulder but just hovered above it. “Just a little too much power in the swing, right honey?” He had no choice but to yawn. Derby made haste saying goodbye and escorting her son to a golf cart another staff member was driving. Upon seeing Sharpay at the golf course, the driver pushed on the gas pedal to high-tail it out of there. Chad and Troy stood out against the bright green grass. Good, Sharpay remembered who he was. If only it didn’t have to cause Chad such discomfort. 

This time, Troy wasn’t even a caddy at all. Ryan’s father stood beside them with a bag with some non-wildcat staff member he couldn’t think to name while Troy had his own bag and wore what seemed to be clothes picked out by Sharpay. Chad was still wearing the uniform. That was crueler than Ryan had thought it’d be.

His twin sister skipped over to Ryan with a club hung over her shoulder. Without hesitation, he jumped into a jazz square with solid fists. Why lie? Yes, he was angry. Sharpay ditched him. In retaliation, Sharpay did two jazz squares while pointing to her wrist like she had a watch. _You’re late_. The look on her face did nothing to hide the knowledge she probably held. All it did was remind Ryan that in this conversation, and almost everything else, his problems with Sharpay were like fighting yourself in an otherwise empty room: she knew everything she needed to know and no one was there to stop her from learning more. 

Still, she persisted. “I hope this makes up for my mood lately, Ry. I’ve just been so _busy_ with my rehearsals that I haven’t been able to make any time for you.” She placed a perfectly manicured hand over his cheek. “You understand how show business is, right?” But there was a gleam in her eye like she knew something that Ryan didn’t even think of guessing yet. 

Chad made his way over to Ryan, shoving out the bag of clubs without taking an eye off Troy. The Wildcat was chatting along with his dad about the Red Hawks again. To reassure him, Ryan lightly punched his shoulder. Chad punched right back but with a smile he didn’t have before. 

“Daddy,” Sharpay droned. “Troy is _my_ friend, I’m the one that asked for him.”

Ryan’s dad raised his eyebrows before bellowing a deep laugh. “Yes, of course, dear.” Then he turned to address Chad. “Since you’ve already caddied for us once before, we don’t need to express our, would you say, _style_ of the game. Just stay close to Ryan and Derby so they can call you when needed.” With that Vance Evans, his caddy, Sharpay and Troy walked off to one of the harder holes. 

Derby smiled. “Why don’t we stay away from that terror fest, huh?” she said like she wasn’t a one-woman terror show herself. Chad picked up the heavy bag and dragged it along the field. 

The first few holes were just Ryan putting and Derby making sure the ball didn’t roll into a ditch. Every so often, Chad would get out a driver for his mom to whack a ball to the moon. When they got to their fourth hole, Ryan offered Chad a club.

“I’m not very sure that’s a good idea R- uh, Mr. Evans.” It was too hard to resist gesturing over to Troy, who was his equal only a few days ago, taking control of the poor caddy. Chad looked to a shrugging Derby. 

“Can’t get any worse than me and Ducky.”

Chad took the club and set up to hit the ball teed on the ground. Ryan stepped back so he could let the Wildcat get enough backswing. The hit landed the ball only a couple of feet right of the hole. Derby cheered. 

“I bet baseball really helped with that one. You’re the boy who was playing against Ducky the other day, right?” Chad mouthed ‘ducky?’ to Ryan, who cheerfully ignored it. “I’ve heard wonderful things about that game. The first time he’s played in years but my little boy’s still got it.” However, Ryan could not ignore the rising blush on his cheeks. Stupid pale complexion making him look like a tomato. His mother caught his eyes for a moment, adoring the way he must’ve been looking at Chad. So much for being subtle. 

They only ran into the other half of the Evans’ family once at a hole. Sharpay stood proud next to Troy in bright pink jeans and a white blouse. Vance, of course, was conversing with the shaky caddy who hadn’t seemed to put the bag down out of fear for the entire session. Next to Ryan, Chad slowly became solid as stone. He and Troy seemed to be going through some mental conversation Chad was losing. One of his hands found its way to Chad’s shoulder, Ryan leaning out to see his face, but Chad shrugged him off. Suddenly all of those years of misread social cues came to hit Ryan in the face. 

“Vance, darling, this caddy is wonderful. Ducky and I have had a fantastic time. And you?”

Ryan’s dad laughed. “This Troy boy is excellent at golf. And to think, he would’ve just been hiding away in the kitchen if Sharpay hadn’t asked for him.” Chad visibly straightened at the comment but didn’t look to Ryan, who had been trying to catch his eye for a while. 

“Daddy, daddy, daddy. Let me and Troy show them how it’s done.” Sharpay practically knocked the bag over to get her pink club. Troy glanced at Chad and Ryan before taking his own club in front of the hole. Sharpay was fabulous, as she would say, swinging the club high above her head and hitting the ball so far that it became a burning pink star in the pale blue sky. 

“I’m not going to get that ball,” whispered Chad. It had been the first thing he’d said since Troy entered the picture. “If anything, I hope Sharpay has to get that ball. Boy, I really hope she trips and falls and somehow, her entire wardrobe finds its way into a pit of sand.” Ryan put a hand to his mouth to stop the soft chuckle from turning into full-blown snorting. From across the field, Troy raised an eyebrow at the quiet exchange.

The famed Wildcat put his ball on the ground and flung it across the course. The Evans family and their caddies held a hand towards the sun, following the bright white ball as it landed next to the hole. Each caddy picked up the golf bag they were responsible for and the group set off towards the balls.

“Troy is good at everything, you know. That’s why he’s singing with me in the Star Dazzle Award show.”

Derby tilted her head ever so slightly to the side. “Aren’t you going to miss performing with your brother? You and Ryan do it every year.”

“Eh, he’s gotten over it,” Sharpay drawled, picking up the pace and dragging Troy along with her. Behind her, Ryan was very much not over it. He felt somewhere in between fuming and crying his eyes out. 

Chad leaned over. “Hey, she’s a jerk anyway. Performing with people who actually want you there is going to be endlessly better than _that_ mess over there.” Ryan looked over at Chad, silently questioning. “What? Oh, well, of course, we want you to perform with us. Your talent is put to great use against that drama queen. I don’t know how you’ve put up with her for years.” Ryan wished he could reciprocate that statement back to Chad-- he didn’t need Troy.

They got to the hole where the ball lay in the grass just a few feet away. Troy took his club and gently nudged the ball in. Sharpay nearly screamed, “Isn’t Troy just amazing?” 

“Isn’t Troy just _amazing?”_ Chad repeated, putting on his best Sharpay impersonation. Ryan had to admit it was pretty good. The only issue was his voice would cut out when Sharpay’s would become the equivalent of a human dog whistle, which wasn’t uncommon. “He’d be more amazing if he spent more time with his friends, or his girlfriend, for that matter. But hey,” Chad nudged Ryan’s shoulder, “at least with him gone you’re around more.” His voice tried to take on a cheery, Gabriella-type sound but it was clearly fake and easy to read through. Ryan gave him a sad grin.

“Would you stop hanging around that caddy and hang around your family for once?” Sharpay came out of nowhere, pulling Ryan away from Chad and closer to where his parents stood with Troy. “I know I got him for you, but I am your twin. Plus, he’s just some basketball kid. I’m the one who’ll be by your side on our rise to fame. Spend some time with your family, maybe.” Ryan felt his fists clench beside him. If he could, he’d shoot the comment right back. Sadly, there’s no jazz square he can think of off the top of his head that means ‘you’re a big fat hypocrite, Sharpay’. 

After that hole, Derby took her son and Chad over to the golf cart for a drink of water. “Sharpay never goes to yoga with us, I like to think this is how she uses all that built up energy. She doesn’t mean anything by it, though,” Derby intoned to Chad. “She likes to have everyone idolizing her, even if she doesn’t go about it in the nicest of ways.” Chad nodded like he had a lot more to add but kept his mouth shut. “Ryan, ducky, dear, if you want to stop for the day that’s all fine by me. The heat can really get to you out here. I might head inside myself. That also means you can leave too, Chad. You’ve been a wonderful help to us.” She took a small towel and started to wipe herself down, then jogged along the trail to get back to the main building.

“Well, that’s enough dealing with Satan for today. Are we gonna take the cart back or…?” Chad motioned with his thumb back to the golf cart that had been covered in sparkles and hot pink paint. Ryan shook his head, not wanting to even touch the vehicle out of fear his clean shirt would be covered in glitter.

So they continued the walk to the resort in easy conversation, despite Chad being the only one providing any sort of speech. Apparently, he had picked baseball over golf because he wanted his own thing instead of sharing every sport with Troy. 

“I mean,” said Chad. “He’s my best friend and all, but everyone needs their own thing. Troy’s never been into baseball anyway. But hey, since he’s busy not-being-in-a-relationship with Sharpay, why don’t we try out some other sports? I bet you’d be great at basketball if you got the chance. We could find a time to play on one of the courts.” Ryan couldn’t stifle his laugh, because _him? Basketball?_ Chad had to be joking.

“What are you laughing about? Listen, I want to spend time with you. I guess you’re not used to that, with Sharpay and all, but… stop laughing!” Ryan couldn’t stop, especially since Chad had started to pace around and furiously run his hands through that mane of his. He just looked ridiculous. Chad stared at Ryan before his frown twisted into a smile and he was laughing too.

“Alright… alright,” he wrapped his arm around Ryan as the laughter died off. “But I was being serious. You game?” And as Ryan lifted his head to meet Chad’s eyes, a sense of peace and belonging ran through him. He was just so happy. He grinned, feeling ecstatic when Chad smiled back. He nuzzled himself farther into his embrace and this just felt right and he could stay here all day. And suddenly, something that had been building in his throat pushed like weeds growing through worn pavement and he felt like he did when he was younger and...

“Okay.”


	5. Chapter Fem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sharpay is literally the worst, Chad sings a song and Ryan is freaking out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sorry we totally didn’t post? Maybe it was on purpose, to prepare you for what’s to come. (Haha sure) ~ Mop
> 
> It was totally Mop’s fault we didn’t post yesterday. Mhm. Definitely. Love you guys. Don’t kill me. ~Max

The words breathed out of his mouth, barely audible, but there. Chad did a double-take, staring right at Ryan and his mouth. He would’ve thought Chad was looking at his lips for specific non-platonic reasons in any other situation. But since this was the first time he’d spoken in nearly a decade, that hopeful wish didn’t make too much sense.

“Did… was….” Chad’s head kept whipping around, his voice utterly in confusion, causing Ryan to giggle against his chest. “I thought you were _mute,_ pretty boy!” Ryan grinned, not even bothering to reply in any sort of form. A silence fell over the two; Chad trying to figure what exactly just happened and Ryan enjoying how close he was to his favorite person.

“Ryan, hey. _Ryan._ We’re entering the building, you may want to-” Chad sighed as Ryan shook his head furiously. “I ain’t explaining this to anyone.” Ryan just snuggled his head closer to the center of Chad’s chest, breathing in the sweaty smell of his shirt. To anyone else, it probably smelled like hell. To Ryan, it smelled like heaven.

The heat of the summer day gave way to a perfectly air-conditioned chill and unrecognizable voices.

“I’m taking you to your room, okay?” Chad’s voice was noticeably strained, but Ryan did not care in the slightest. 

“Is he… okay?” A familiar voice drifted over Ryan’s ears.

“Yeah, he’s fine Kels.”

“Better than fine,” Ryan mumbled into Chad’s shirt, but if either Chad or Kelsi caught it, there was no mention of it. It was much louder in here. Still, he had spoken twice now. Twice in one day, even if he was far too hoarse for someone who hadn’t smoked in his entire life. The second time felt easier, a load lifted off his chest. Nobody heard him but it didn’t even seem to matter. 

The overwhelming need to say hi to everyone swelled in Ryan’s chest. What would they say? Would they just go with it, keep on walking? Or pause and try to figure out if they heard a ghost. Or maybe they’d run out of the building in confusion, screaming as they ran up to his parents yelling gibberish. Not liking that possible future, Ryan decided to wait until telling his parents. This was something he wanted to explore with himself. And possibly Chad. 

_Definitely_ Chad.

He and Chad were in unison, feet moving at the same time to the same beat. Their hearts were beating as one too, even if Ryan couldn’t prove it. He just _knew._ Every part of him felt light and airy and bounced with every step. This must’ve been the best he’s felt in weeks. Nay, _years._

Reaching the room, Chad leaned against the doorframe. “I forgot you actually cleaned this thing.” It was true, most of it was kept tidy. Ryan had a thing about messy rooms. Too unpredictable. 

“You don’t?” came the hushed reply. 

“I’m never going to get used to you doing that. Speaking, that is,” Chad said instead of answering the question. Ryan left his position of being glued to his side and walked into his room. “Are you going to talk forever now? Or is this just a spooky nightmare where Ryan Evans talks way too much, has an awful fashion sense and hates musical theatre?”

Ryan laughed. It felt more whole, parts no longer silenced by his hatred of making any sounds. He’d forgotten what it felt like to laugh like that. “Sounds awful…” he trailed off, listening to how his voice faded into oblivion. 

Chad only scrunched up his face to reply. “I kinda thought it’d be a bit higher. Like, chihuahua barking at strangers high. Your voice at least. The token-gay voice.” Ryan let his head fall to the side imagining that. 

“Like ‘Pay?” Chad snapped his fingers in response.

“Exactly.”

Ryan sat on his bed, looking up at Chad. The Wildcat stood straighter as he looked at the hallway and then Ryan. “I’ve got to go soon. Clock out and stuff. But we’re definitely doing basketball, right? You _talked_ about it. Can’t back off now.” Ryan shrugged, a mischievous look crossing his face. 

“You better not ditch me,” Chad lowered his voice. Still joking but Ryan couldn’t ignore the slight seriousness of the words. “Friday? I get off early round two. We can meet at the courts, got it?” Ryan nodded fiercely. “Okay, I’ll see you then.” With that, Chad stalked off into the dimly lit hallway to likely talk to his other friends. 

He let himself fall backwards with a dreamy sigh. Gosh, he sounded like a teenage girl thinking about a crush. Two out of three, Ryan supposed. And to think that Chad might’ve been straight. No way in hell was he at this point. 

Words started to form on his list, but his top priority was Chad. Maybe Ryan would surprise the Wildcat by sauntering to the court in two days calling him by his name. Trying it out for the first time, he couldn’t get past the first few letters. He had forgotten the secret trick to making his mouth form that stupid ch- sound. 

He grabbed out his phone and quickly typed in something along the lines of “how to make the ch sound” and pressed play on the first video that popped up. A middle-aged woman explained how to close your mouth just enough to force air through his teeth.

“Ch, ch, ch.” He knew he was dropping his jaw way too much, but it sounded right to him.

“Ch-ad. Chad. Chad? Chad!” He played around with the expression, grinning from ear to ear as the speech only got more natural. 

However, years of not talking must’ve weakened his vocal cords, as a tightness started to grip his throat. He attempted to cough out the stinging pain but found it only made it worse. From across the hall, Derby yelled, “You okay, Ducky?” As if he would reply. It was the thought that counted.

Ryan’s coughing only got worse and the next thing he knew, Derby was standing in his doorway with a cup of water. “Ducky?” She set her glass on the desk, careful to avoid the pieces of sheet music decorated with notes for timing and jazz squares. “You aren’t in any pain, are you? And no fever?” She walked across the room to put a hand on Ryan’s forehead. “No, you feel perfectly fine. Just drink, okay? We don’t want you to get dehydrated.”

Ryan’s tomato face was returning but this time it wasn’t a sign of embarrassment. His face became blotchy and red without showing signs of stopping. His gasps for air were futile. First his throat, now this. At least he was getting somewhere with his speaking. Derby held him close as his coughing slowly dissolved into nothingness and the red was drained from his face. Derby quickly grabbed the water and handed it to him, glaring him down until he drank the entire cup. Why she thought he’d get dehydrated from coughing, he didn’t know. Mother logic. “Feeling better, Ducky?” When Ryan nodded, she patted him on the back and left the room.

He fell back on his bed, throat still sore. But there were more important things to worry about.

Maybe his ability to say at least Chad’s name would distract from the fact that he couldn’t even dribble a basketball. 

* * *

“You came, phantom of the gayera! I thought you had left me to shoot hoops by myself,” Chad yelled, extending his well-toned arms to make a basket. Of course, it bounced against the backboard and fell right into the net. Ryan had a growing suspicion that wouldn’t be happening when he took a shot.

Ryan attempted to reply back to him, interrupted by a group of guests walking to the volleyball nets across the way. Of course they had to pick the court right next to theirs. Now Ryan wouldn’t be able to get the bugs crawling down his throat and into his lungs out. He glared at them in hopes they would pick up on the anger and move a few courts down. 

Chad totally misread the glare as a longing gaze. “No, no, no. We’re not doing volleyball. That’s the hormonal teenager of sports. Too much standing around being lazy, not enough planning ahead.” Ryan rolled his eyes at Chad, putting his hand on his hips. “What, you hate it too? Great, we’ll get along even better then.” As if they could possibly not get along at this point.

Chad threw the ball to Ryan, who promptly let it hit him in the stomach and roll on the ground. It hadn’t really hurt. His confidence, however, was flustered and clutching itself on the pavement. Chad lifted an eyebrow. “What Mr. Jazz Hands, no coordination?”

Ryan huffed out a breath. Walking to the ball on the ground, he let the grooves on the ball sink into his fingers. He positioned his arms in a replication of Chad’s shot. The ball flew a few feet in the air but went straight up and came right back down. It dribbled away across the court. Chad struggled to control his surge of laughter.

“Dang, dance-man. You weren’t kidding,” he breathed between chuckles. “Here, let me help you out.” He scooped up the basketball and dribbled over to Ryan. “Catch.”

He launched the basketball at Ryan’s chest and he instinctively held his hands up, shocked when his fingers seemed to grip into the ball. 

“There you go, twinkle toes.” Chad came behind Ryan in an instant, holding his elbows. “Now we just gotta work on that throw of yours. You underestimate the amount of power you’ll need, which is the exact opposite of you in golf. Not sure if I’m surprised or not.” Ryan felt his body shake against Chad’s chest. “So you just got to bring them back a bit and really follow through, uh-huh?” Ryan glanced behind his head and saw Chad was glued on the ball and the hoop. It wasn’t unexpected that Chad got so focused on macho-man athletics. Ryan had not counted for him to be so attractive when he did so.

“Then all you’ve got to do is,” Chad pushed on Ryan’s arm to create the force that made the ball fly in the air and into the hoop. “That. See? I’ve got hope for you yet. Maybe we should try learning to fake right and brake left?” Ah yes. The infamous move that apparently fooled all of the other basketball boys despite being the only thing they ever used. Ryan shook his head, not even sure if he could _shoot_ without Chad’s help, when he felt Chad’s hands slip down to his waist.

Chills rushed down his spine. Dammit, Danforth. Warn a man first, huh? That didn’t matter though, Ryan was falling harder than he’d wanted to. He’d need LifeAlert if he wasn’t careful. 

“Careful, I’m just repositioning you. Better form and all,” Chad badly excused his wandering hands. Ryan let himself sink into the feeling. He was too busy tripping over feelings to see Sharpay cross into the grass and on the court. 

“Get off my worthless brother, peasant!” 

At the sight of a person he knew, Chad stepped a good five feet away from Ryan. Sharpay stepped in between them. Her face was red like Ryan’s often got but somehow even worse. Her makeup was a bit off, maybe a bit too much blush and too little eye shadow. Her outfit consisted of a black dress outlined in pink ruffles. Ryan didn’t tend to wear that kind of fabric, it made his skin itch. But what bothered him more-so was Sharpay’s wording. _Worthless_. Wasn’t she his only companion, through thick and thin? When he stopped talking, when they moved schools. When he was accused of being gay but as an insult. Sharpay had been his only ally in the entirety of his life. What had changed? He knew the answer to that, actually, but he didn’t want to admit _Troy_ had set the dominos toppling.

“Danforth, I strongly recommend you leave. Evans business, you know.” She impatiently tapped her foot on the painted concrete. When Chad didn’t budge, she persisted anyways. “Look, Ryan, things have been really _stressful_ lately. Troy has been very hard to convince to sing with me and you haven’t helped at all with that. Not to mention you’re my choreographer. You can’t just ditch me when you suddenly have as big a role as you used to. Show business demands you to move forward, Ry. You can’t just stay like this forever.”

“Actually, Sharpay, it sounds like you’re demanding him to forget that _you_ ditched _him_. He’s not some staff member. Ryan is your twin brother.”

Sharpay glared daggers at Chad. Flipping her hair, she continued, “Maybe I was wrong about you this whole time. Maybe this entire time you’ve just been a pain in my back that I could’ve gotten rid of but I didn’t, because you were just so pitiful. Everyone thinks it. I’ve let you choreograph all these dances when I could have just had daddy hire a _professional._ Not to mention the fact that I had to learn to harmonize with myself just to be able to carry _your_ roles. Which, granted, will look wonderful on my Juilliard transcripts, but it's time I could’ve been using to spend time with Troy.” Ryan could feel the tears flowing to the brink. 

“I asked you to come to the rehearsal studio today, Ry. But I guess you were too busy going back to your ‘lackluster little league star’ roots to _care._ You clearly love that- that _dishwasher_ \- more than me. And I am your _sister_. I’m starting to think you’ve become one of them. But I guess that’s just because you were too pathetic to not have someone to cling to. Okay, I said it! You are way too clingy, and useless to boot. A nobody, without me. You need to get your act together and get to actual rehearsal instead of dancing with those wildcraps.” Sharpay paused. “You know what? Don’t even bother. I’ll just have daddy hire one of those professionals I talked about. Then I won’t have to see _your_ trashy face the rest of the summer.” With that, she strutted back across the field leaving a shaking Ryan and bewildered Chad. 

“Good riddance!” Chad yelled to the wind. “It’s a good thing he has real friends, with family like you! And you know what, we’re gonna kick your little pink ass in your talent show!” From far away, Sharpay seemed to scream. Chad chuckled to himself before turning to a horrified Ryan. “Hey, dude, are you okay?” Ryan felt his legs give out beneath him as he crumpled onto the pavement in a heap.

“Hey, hey, you’ll scrape up your knees. C’mon, if we’re doing the whole belting out your feelings things, it’s gonna be in the grass.” Chad tugged on his arms but when Ryan wouldn’t move, Chad picked him up by his chest. He didn’t stop until the two of them were a distance away from the court and the volleyball players. 

“Just sit up, okay? All the snot won’t get stuck up your nose then. Might as well cry it out at this point.” Chad sat down on the ground next to Ryan. “At least now you can tell me how to fix this, and it won’t be an endless guessing game.” Ryan smacked his shin frustratedly from his position laying on the ground. Now was not the time for Chad to be joking around. Thankfully, the Wildcat noticed.

Ryan quietly sobbed for a few minutes before wiping his face with his hand. At least he hadn’t decided to wear gloves today. That would’ve been awful. He hoped the white shirt he had chosen to wear wouldn’t get stained though. 

“Do you want to talk about it? Now that you can, at least.” Ryan propped himself so that his head laid in Chad’s lap without his hat falling off. A hard feat, but an important one. 

“Sh- sh- Pay was the only one who ever cared. Everyone else didn’t want to talk to the mute gay kid. Pay had to by default,” Ryan forced out. “Must’ve realized sh-sh-e didn’t have to anymore.”

Chad hummed in thought. “Why though?” When Ryan moved his head in confusion, Chad tried again. “Why don’t you talk? You seem to do fine in small bursts.”

No, no, no, no, he shouldn’t have asked that. Ryan hadn’t told anyone who hadn’t been directly involved- but he wanted to. God did he want to. Chad was so care-free that maybe he wouldn’t think Ryan was some weird little kid who got scared too easily by himself. Taking a deep breath, Ryan prepared himself. 

“My family is rich-ch. You know that.” Chad muttered an ‘obviously’, but otherwise waited for Ryan to continue. “People think they’ll get money if they do bad things. They- um, took me. That was their bad thing. They took me for money.” His throat became dry but he ignored it. “Don’t know how long. Mom says weeks. I remember pain. And screaming. Me screaming. I hated that I did. It hurt. I couldn’t s-stop talking. Hurt like it did then. I was nine.” Ryan could feel Chad grip his shoulders tight like he might let go and Ryan would run away. “Pay got me hats… made me feel safe. But P-pay left and I thought I had…” Ryan’s head swung around. “S-s-se helps… I- I need her, where did... Pay-!” He tried lifting himself to his feet only to be pulled down by a swift dark arm.

Chad shushed him to try and calm him down. “You’re panicking, Ryan. It’s okay. You’re upset because Sharpay was just being mean. And you were telling me why you’re always with her. But it’s okay, it’s all safe. What-” Chad hesitated and sighed. “What does Sharpay do when you get like this?”

Ryan settled into his lap. “Sing.”

Chad blanked out for a second. In the rational part of his mind, Ryan didn’t blame him, he was the one who got super offended when Troy just wanted to audition for a school play. But Ryan wasn’t being highly rational at the moment and was crying against his chest to the occasional whimper of ‘Pay’.

Above him, Chad took a deep breath. “ _We’re all in this together-_ ” He started, dramatically lowering the tempo. A few seconds in and Chad’s voice had already cracked at least twice. He was being quiet so as to not let the other people outside hear him fail at singing a pep rally song, voice barely brushing past a whisper. But to the scared boy in his arms, it was the sound of angels. He let the song lull him into a melancholy state until the voice singing it broke and cut off. Ryan couldn’t hold back a laugh. 

When Ryan’s face lit up, Chad’s did as well. The song continued and became a bit louder and more confident. 

“Only s-song you know?” Ryan questioned in a mixture of laughing and crying. Chad let his voice drown out in the wind. 

“Well, I know a few Phantom of the Opera songs. But those didn’t seem very appropriate.” Ryan smiled from his lap. “I like that song though, in a weird sort of way. Don’t think I’ll perform it in front of everyone any time soon. Not really a show-stealer like you.” Ryan sat up to sit beside Chad in the grass. “You know, you’re not useless. The way you swing a bat certainly says so. And even if you never talk to anyone again, it won’t matter. Doesn’t make you worthless at all.” Chad wouldn’t dare look at Ryan, like that would suddenly make things awkward or weird. But it was still a nice thought, so Ryan looked out to the golf greens in the hope to lighten his mood. 

That’s when he caught sight of a Latina girl rushing towards the two of them. She seemed to be upset if her face was any indication. Not quite crying, but somewhere close. Chad picked himself off from the ground. 

“Gabi, what’s wrong?” Chad asked softly, sticking his hands into his pockets. She paused to catch her breath. 

“Sharpay isn’t going to let any of the staff perform in the show. No exceptions.” Gabriella said, exasperated. Her entire body gave off the stress she was clearly experiencing. “It’s awful! We’re required to work that night and I still haven’t heard anything from Troy. This summer has been just- wait, Ryan, are you okay?” Ryan nodded, hopping to his feet, and motioned for her to continue. “Kelsi thinks it was Sharpay who told Fulton to cancel.” Chad grumbled something under his breath while Ryan took the moment to be horrified. Was this his fault? Was Sharpay so angry at him that she took it out on all the other Wildcats? Chad must’ve felt Ryan’s worrying because he slung an arm over his shoulders.

“We’ve got to fix this,” Ryan mumbled.

“Yeah. Yeah we do.”


	6. Chapter Sei

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ryan is having a crisis, though what's new, Chad is acting weird and Troy returns in Sad Basketball Boy 2: Electric Boogaloo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end here! This chapter actually had to be rewritten since we weren't happy with how it flowed. Though, here it is now, so enjoys! ~Mop
> 
> Mop hated this chapter so much, guys. But this journey is almost done! Y'all have been great, thanks for reading this mess. ~Max

“Think fast, Hatman!” Ryan’s head whipped around to see an apple flying towards him. He’d barely had enough time to fumble his hands to catch it. Ryan had been sitting, alone, in the now disheveled practice room. The Wildcats hadn’t stepped foot inside since Sharpay had all of the staff members barred from performing in the show. Only Kelsi practiced on the vacant piano shoved into the middle of the room. 

Chad settled down next to him. “I thought you were done with the whole self-pity thing. Now that you have real friends, you can be upset with them all the time. Much easier.” A bag of food was set down in front of the two of them. Lunch breaks had become the only time that they got to hang out together since Chad’s hours mysteriously increased. While he was glad that meant more money for a car, it also meant less time for Ryan to fail miserably at sports. Ryan never thought he’d be upset about not having the time for  _ sports. _

“Hard to do that when you never see them,” Ryan replied. Though he’d hesitantly decided against talking in front of his parents or sister, Ryan had started to do so more in front of Chad. Now he could hold a full conversation without his throat shutting down. “You might be enough for me, though. A lot to unpack here.” He gestured to all of a playfully annoyed Chad. 

Chad nodded and started pulling packages out of the brown paper. “I did bring a lot of food to unpack, you’re right.” Ryan groaned and punched the basketball star on his shoulder. “Now, what did you do that for? I thought you  _ loved  _ me,” Chad joked. 

Ryan raised an eyebrow. By now, the words didn’t really phase him. Chad was sort of an idiot when it came to saying things like this. It was sort of insane that Chad hadn’t noticed that yes, Ryan kind of did love him. He hadn’t tried to hide his feelings. 

“Okay, so our menu today is top-notch. Courtesy of Zeke and the rest of the kitchen, so you know it’s good.” Ryan vigorously nodded. Sharpay never shared the cookies that Zeke sent over for her but the few times he’d stolen them had been a literal dream. Gooey and chewy, almost melting in his mouth like cotton candy. “Martha made us some grilled cheeses, there’s the apple I nearly lodged into your head, I think a slice of pie from Zeke and some of Gabi’s Mom’s brownies.” Ryan made a quick grab for the container of brownies. Gabriella had quit just a few days ago and hadn’t been seen since. How Chad got them in the first place was a mystery but Ryan wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Brownies were brownies. They sat in companionable silence as they gorged on the food. 

Chad wiped his mouth and laid across the tiled floor with his face towards the ceiling. “We should totally try hockey one time. And before you say it, yes, it’s the middle of summer. I know that, idiot. But we can be bad at it together. Can’t say I’m too great at skating, so it’ll be a blast.” 

Ryan shook his head. “I have a hard time believing you’d be bad at any sport. Or that you’d be able to drag me onto an ice rink in the first place.” He picked up the wrappings tossed haphazardly on the floor. “Maybe I’d consider it if you finally listened to Les Mis.”

Chad couldn’t stop the laugh from shaking his whole body. “Prancer, you’re not getting me within ten feet of a musical album. I still get nightmares of Michael Crawford crawling out of my fridge in full Phantom. I’ll just leave that stuff to you, keep myself sane.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing the show got cancelled,” Ryan sighed, seemingly from nowhere. “We would’ve sucked.”

Chad turned so that he was facing Ryan while still sprawled out across the floor. There was this almost sad look in his deep brown eyes. “I think you could still put on a one-man show. Hell, you put on a half-mask and saunter onstage with a stupid cape, and you could perform all of that stupid show by yourself. No Christine needed.”

Ryan looked down at his hands folded into his lap. “I haven’t sung in years. Pulling off an act alone would be a travesty on everyone’s time and ears.” 

“Um, if I can sing, Showbiz Spectacular, you can too. Definitely. You sang before, right?” Ryan tentatively nodded. “You’d just have to practice. Even if you pull a Chad and sing  _ We’re All in This Together _ in front of rich assholes in a country club resort.” Beside him, Ryan held back giggles. Damn his stupid gay thoughts. He’d think by now they’d realize he and Chad weren’t going to happen. Giggling like a pre-teen girl would only make it worse. 

He took a breath, feeling his chest rise and back straighten out, before letting his shoulders fall once more. “I- I don’t think I could.”

Chad sat up. “Is it because I’m here?”

They looked at each other for a few drawn-out moments. Of course not, he wanted to say.  _ Because  _ Chad was here and had been there, he started talking again. Ryan had played baseball for the first time in years. He felt open and distinct, not just guy-Sharpay-who-never-talked. He was Ryan, the semi-talkative gay theatre kid. And he wanted to say all that but all he got out was a simple, “No, you help.” He mentally kicked himself. 

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. “How much longer is your break?” Ryan asked. Chad searched the wall for a clock. 

“Um, maybe ten more minutes. Fifteen if you can bring out nice-Fulton. Why?”

Ryan took Chad’s hand and rushed out of the room.

They turned a corner and ran down the long hallway to Ryan’s room. “Jeez, sparkle pants, keep bringing me in here and people will start getting ideas,” Chad smirked in a way that made Ryan squirm.

Damn you, Danforth. Stupid maybe-straight jocks. 

Ryan walked over to his desk shoved into the corner of his room. After a minute or two of digging through sheet music, he pulled out a messy copy of  _ Bop to the Top _ . That song had been one of his favorites, even though he hadn’t sung any of it. Sharpay had been nice enough to let Ryan choreograph his heart out. Considering it was an audition piece, however, the whole thing seemed a little over the top. Looking back on it, Ryan supposed it had been to make up for Troy and Gabriella’s rare natural talent. 

The CD the song was stored on was in a drawer in the desk. He slotted it into a player on a dresser beside his bed and pressed play. In the meantime, Chad set himself on the bed and leaned back on his hands. 

“This wasn’t in the musical, was it?” Chad yelled across the room. At Ryan’s confused look, Chad added on a hushed, “Troy’s dad made us all go. To support him, or whatever. I fell asleep during the first five minutes. Don’t get your leggings in a bunch.”

“No, we performed this for the audition. I just like the song, that’s all.” Ryan mumbled and tapped out the beat with his foot. 

“Wow, this is a bit culturally insensitive, isn’t it?” Chad snarked during the intro. Ryan couldn’t help but agree. He wished he could just blame it on Sharpay but he did help pick the song. The rest of it wasn’t that bad. 

Chad watched as Ryan lazily went through the dances before the chorus, reading through the lyrics. Though fast-paced, the song was easy enough to learn. 

“Yeah, we’re gonna,” Ryan attempted to follow the melody, “Bop, bop, bop, bop to the top.” He could definitely hit the notes, no problem, but his voice shook in ways he tried to ignore. Of course, he couldn’t ignore the stupid smile that took up Chad’s face. 

“C’mon, seriously? If  _ that’s  _ a travesty, I want to hear you on one of your so-called ‘good days’,” He stood up from his position on the bed and walked over to Ryan, outstretching his hand, “Let me see those. Gonna be the Sharpay to your Ryan, buddy. Except like, you’re not gonna sit there and just make me look pretty.” Yeah, Chad did that fine on his own.  _ Not the time,  _ Ryan berated himself. He was brought out of his mental scolding by Chad chuckling gently beside him. “Wow, this is stupid. It’s catchy though, right?”

“Very.”

They sat together for a few minutes, Ryan humming out parts of the song since Chad could not tell a C from an F sharp. Even though he seemed to enjoy learning the song, Chad refused to dance. Well, for a few minutes. After that, he gave in to Ryan’s gestures for him to join in and did a sloppy jazz square. Ryan smiled instead of cringing. 

The two of them danced to the recording for so long that Fulton had made his way to the doorway. “Mr. Evans, Mr. Danforth?” They stopped. If Fulton had heard Ryan singing, he didn’t make any sign of it. “I believe you’re almost twenty minutes late to your shift, Mr. Danforth. Be glad that you have a liable excuse. I’d get to it, though, those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves.” Fulton, for some odd reason Ryan could not begin to fathom, winked at the boys and continued on his merry way. They contained themselves for only a moment before laughing their guts out and onto the floor. 

Chad got himself together, moving to turn off the player and returning to Ryan’s side. They stood close, apparently disregarding personal space. Chad’s breath felt hot and sticky on Ryan’s neck. Eyes met before Chad coughed into his fist and made it to the door. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” 

Ryan suddenly got an idea. He raced around his room, delving into his closet for the hat. It had sat in there since the baseball game. With a swift leap back to Chad, Ryan sat the hat on his head. The dark navy stripes on the white newsboys worked rather well on Chad.

“This is the one from the game, isn’t it? Now I have a memento too.” Was it just Ryan, or was his voice shaking?  _ It can’t be. Just your ears playing tricks on you. _

Ryan nodded, feeling strangely lightheaded. It was probably just from the singing and the marking of the dance.  _ Sure it is.  _ Chad readjusted the hat before he waved goodbye and left the confinement of Ryan’s room. Said Evans glanced down at the music still crumbled in his hand, the letters swimming around and not making any sense. 

That had just happened. Chad noticed if the way he moved away like Ryan had the plague was any indication. But that still  _ happened _ . Most of him shut the thoughts down, but a tiny voice asked the big what-if. What if Chad wasn’t straight and maybe perhaps kind of liked him?

That light-headed feeling seeped down his body until everything felt like floating on air. Ryan couldn’t keep off a smile. Despite all of the horrible things happening, things could have been looking up. 

* * *

The kitchen was busy when he walked inside. Staff members swam like fish in an ocean of hormones and lazily cleaned dishes- Chad always said that it was Jason, but Ryan had a hard time believing that it was just the one kid. Served his parents right for hiring an all high-school aged staff. But he didn’t pay attention to them in favor of Chad standing next to some other Wildcats while scrubbing what looked like a salad bowl. One of the Wildcats turned around for a brief second and met eyes with Ryan. He whistled and nudged Chad, gesturing back to the human rainbow that was half of the Evans’ terror twins.

Though he was rather sure no one was actually staring at him, Ryan felt a thousand eyes pierce his skin. His breath stuttered as Chad walked over to him. 

“Yo, what’s up? I’ll have to go grab our lunch and stuff. We’re going to the practice room again?” Ryan nodded. 

In the corner of his eye, Ryan saw a staff member wink at the two of them. Ryan felt his features contort into an uneasy smile, leaving said staff member to grin knowingly and turn back around. Why was it that everyone but Chad seemed to see Ryan’s feelings for him? How could someone be so oblivious?

But when he looked up at Chad, that wide grin stretched along his face, Ryan’s heart couldn’t help but flutter, despite his irritating obliviousness. They pranced along into the practice room where Chad put down the paper bag and sat on the tile. 

“I promise these burgers are delicious,” Chad started, pulling out tin-foil wrapped packages from the dingy bag, “Apparently it’s what you fancy people eat all the time. God, Sparkles, you know you’re spoiled, right?” Chad looked up at Ryan with a grin that could brighten anyone’s day. “Hey, I’m joking. Sort of. Take a seat, bro.” He patted the floor next to him and Ryan quickly took the cue to sit. He grabbed one of the foiled packages, his fingers brushing against Chad’s as they both reached for the same one.

“Great minds think alike,” Chad quipped, quickly removing his hand and grabbing the other hamburger. Damn. That wasn’t nearly as breathtaking or romance-inducing as it was in the movies.

Still, Ryan’s heart was racing from the unexpected physical contact. Stupid oblivious maybe-straight guy, playing with his heart without realizing it. 

“So, Pretty Boy, what would you say if I told you I actually listened to some of Les Mis the other day?” Holycrapholycrapholycrapholy- Ryan took a deep breath in. Why did he have to be so freaking perfect? It was one thing to kinda-flirt with him, but he actually went and listened to a musical. A  _ musical.  _ Ryan was about to faint.

“Hey, only a bit. Just the song about whats-their-name.” Ryan quirked his eyebrow. “You’re really gonna make me- alright. Alright.” Chad took a second to compose himself, taking in deep breaths, before he suddenly launched up from the floor.  _ “Master of the house, quick to catch yer eye.”  _ Chad’s singing was horribly off-key, but he was doing some crazy movement that could maybe be described as dancing by someone not named Ryan Evans, and suddenly Ryan had burst out in a fit of laughter.

God, he loved him.

Chad grinned from ear to ear. Ryan loved that too. Everything about his idiotic face and random jokes made Ryan swoon. He stood up beside his Wildcat friend, dancing with him. They diverged into pointlessly flailing their bodies around to a silent beat laughing all the while. Ryan could kiss him.

Except he couldn’t, could he?

Chad had a girlfriend. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them, especially Taylor, who wasn’t even there, to kiss Chad senseless and hope for something in return. The conclusion stopped Ryan’s crazy dancing in its tracks. 

Meanwhile, Chad shifted awkwardly with a shy smile moving across his face. “Look, I-”, 

“Chad! Chad, you’re in here, right?” 

Troy. Goddamnit. Chad’s body became rigid, his fists clenched by his side.

“What, shoving it into our faces when we were serving you food wasn’t enough? Are you seeking us out now too?” Cold fury was uncanny in Chad’s brittle voice. Especially when aimed at Troy. During all of his life in Albuquerque, Ryan had never seen the duo pitted against each other like this. Except maybe last winter but even that fell short in comparison to this. From across the room, Troy’s shoulders sagged. 

“No, no. I heard about the show. That Sharpay won’t let you guys perform. And I know it sucks that I’m saying this now, after Gabi quit and everything, but I was acting super awful. I shouldn’t have ditched you like that.” His bright blue eyes were reminiscent of a rainy summer day. Somehow gray and dull yet warm at the same time. “And I definitely shouldn’t have treated you like you were actually working for me. ‘Cause you weren’t.” He unexpectedly turned to Ryan. “And, uh, I’m sorry about everything that happened. Between telling everyone and listening to Sharpay. It just felt nice to be sought out, you know? Even if it meant leaving my friends behind.”

Chad looked torn between hating the guy’s guts and feeling sorry for him. “We were in the middle of something, Troy.” The boy in question cast a questioning glance and shifted his gaze between the two of them. An expression of realization bloomed on his face. Ryan quirked an eyebrow at Chad’s statement. Was he just making stuff up? His eyes met the Wildcat’s for a split second before Ryan turned his attention towards Troy, certain Chad was just referring to Troy taking up his lunch break. That had to be it. Troy coughed into his hand before speaking.

“Yeah, and I’m super sorry about that. I want to make it up to you. To all of the Wildcats. Maybe we can turn this summer around.”

Chad stood up next to Ryan and stared down Troy. “How do you suppose we do that, huh? Besides, maybe this summer wasn’t so bad. Maybe, even with my best friend ditching me half-way through, I’ve had a great time with my new friend and I don’t need your help.”

Troy deflated visibly. In a sudden wave of pity, Ryan tugged at Chad’s arm. “‘Pay’s manipulative. She might not realize it but she’s hurt all of us. Troy too.”

Chad nodded while Troy was frozen with surprise that Ryan had formed actual words with his mouth. “Okay, show-stopper,” he sighed. He turned to Troy, shaking his head. “What was that about making it up to us?”

Troy’s face lit up. “How do you feel about getting revenge on Sharpay?”


	7. Chapter Septem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taylor has a chat, Ryan is ready to throw Jason out of the performance and Chad is no longer oblivious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it my bros! Last chapter. Have fun with it, but to warn you, it’s super long. Definitely one of my favorites though. ~Mop
> 
> Y’all it’s just this and the (super short) epilogue. Enjoy it while you can ~Max

Ryan watched Sharpay and Troy yell at each other in front of the Star Dazzle stage out of the corner of his eye. If this happened during school, he would’ve rolled his eyes and stood impatiently beside his twin sister. But this being the kick-off of their grand plan, a large grin broke out on Ryan’s face.

Sharpay’s face was a beautiful tomato red, hands clenched at her sides with ferocious anger. For once, Troy seemed on top of the conversation. He actually seemed relaxed. That wasn’t a common occurrence when talking to any of the Evanses.

When Sharpay stormed off, probably moments before throwing a tantrum that Fulton was sure to silently hold a grudge against for weeks, Troy glanced at Ryan and gave him a thumbs-up. Time for part two of the grand plan.   
  
  


He sprinted across the field to a paved path occupied by a golf cart. Taylor sat in the front seat, leaning back and looking at Ryan. When the boy shoved himself beside her, she took off across the country club’s carefully mowed lawn. Ryan briefly wondered if any of his fellow Wildcats had been part of the yard maintenance crew. That led him to question when he started thinking about them at the same level as himself. Not that it mattered. It felt nice to have more than one friend. 

Taylor drove slower than Gabriella, though it was still faster than Ryan preferred. It felt like he was riding with Sharpay, despite the fact that a quick glance at the person next to him showed a girl nothing like his sister. 

As much as he wanted to hate Taylor, he couldn’t find it in him. Sure, she was Chad’s… something, but on her own, she was strong-willed and snarky. Both words could describe Sharpay, but Taylor used that great power to help her friends. Most of the time. Ryan was still not too sure what happened last year during the weeks leading up to the callback.

They stopped in the staff parking lot. Ryan had a scooter but fitting more than himself on the tiny seat would prove to be a challenge he didn’t want to add to the list. Taylor’s car was simple and in rather nice condition. Probably handed down or bought used. It did seem rather comfy, though. Ryan, once again, sat in the passenger seat as Taylor started up the car. She reached into a compartment between the two of them and pulled out something rectangular. 

“Granola bar?”

Ryan held back a sigh. Taylor gave him a soft smile. So much for even slightly disliking her. 

He ate the raisin granola bar in silence as they sped down the deserted Albuquerque road. Ryan wondered why he was even sent on the retrieve-Gabriella trip at all. Taylor was her best friend, so an obvious choice there. Why not Troy? Or even Chad? They’d been written into the plan somewhere else, presumably, which left Ryan being stuck here. 

Don’t get him wrong, he loved Gabriella. Sweet girl, if a bit lacking in the ability to stand up for herself. Ryan just couldn’t see his place in getting her back. He subconsciously reached for the radio before restraining himself. This wasn’t his car. 

Taylor didn’t seem to mind. “Hey, we can turn it on. Sort of quiet anyway.” She turned a knob and the car suddenly filled with some random pop singer belting out a generic description of a pretty woman. 

Behind the wheel, Taylor tilted her head towards Ryan. “So, I heard you talk now, huh?” He straightened in his seat. “I hear you guys in the hallway, you and Chad. He hasn’t laughed like that since before Troy ditched us for your sister. Not that I blame you for that,” she gave him a small quirk of the lips. “I’d kind of hoped he’d laugh like that with me. Or at least give me a nickname.” Those same lips turned down suddenly. “He’s given you a lot of nicknames, hasn’t he?”

Ryan hunched his shoulders forward. He’d nearly forgotten that it had only been a month since his classmates started to actually like him. It must’ve been too much to ask everyone- especially the maybe-girlfriend of the guy he liked- but Ryan had been hoping. What happened next Ryan hadn’t dared to even dream. 

“I know you like him. And not just as a friend.” The car stopped abruptly at a red light. How had they gone so far without Ryan noticing? “And that he likes you back.” Ryan snapped his head up to meet her intense gaze for the first time of the entire trip. “You should ask him out. I think that'd make him really happy. Much more than he’d ever be with me.” Her glare melted at that, cooling down the frantic panic rising in his throat. 

The car started up as they plowed down the road in resumed silence. Maybe it was Taylor avoiding more conversation but Ryan used it to think to himself. If Chad did like him, and wanted to be something more than friends, well, that’d be the cherry on top of the strangely delicious sundae this summer turned out to be. And really lucky. Which was why Ryan realized that this couldn’t be his life. He didn’t get the cute endings tied up with pretty pink bows. 

Maybe, just this once, he deserved a chance at one. 

Gabriella’s house laid in the shade of several trees in her front and back yard. Ryan was relieved when he didn’t find a for-sale sign on the front lawn. He'd been fearing, just a little, that Gabriella had managed to move to Canada in the time after she quit working at Lava Springs. 

Taylor parked along the street and climbed out of the car, Ryan following close behind. He hadn’t cared to know where Gabriella lived prior to then but enjoyed the simplicity and charm of the house walking up to the entrance. Taylor confidently walked up to the front door. It was answered within seconds by an older woman vaguely resembling their missing friend. 

“Oh, Taylor! Who’s this young gentleman you got here?” Her voice was warm and fluid, reminding Ryan of warm cookies and milk. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. 

“This is our friend Ryan. He was part of the winter musical that Gabi was in. Is she here, by the way?” Gabriella’s mother glanced back into the house then turned to them. 

“I’m sure I could get her to come downstairs. She’ll love seeing you guys.” The door was closed gently and Ryan heard the soft thudding of Gabriella’s mother walking up the stairs in her house. 

It was opened almost a minute after by Gabriella herself. She looked surprised. “What are you guys doing here?” Ryan became ecstatic at hearing her bright and happy voice, even if it were a bit duller than it used to be. 

Taylor took a step into the doorway. “We need your help. We’re gonna try to perform at the Star Dazzle Award show, but we need you to perform with us. If not for you, do it for the Wildcats. We need _you_ _,_ Gabi!” Hearing Taylor plead was a strangely pleasing yet sorrowful sight. It was something like Sharpay not getting her own helicopter despite begging their father for days. Just heartbreaking enough to want to give them a simple pat on the back. 

Gabriella frowned so deeply her eyes dimmed. “Is- is Troy going to be there?” Her voice quivered and didn’t make it past a whisper. Ryan nodded. 

“Don’t worry though,” Taylor became peppier all of a sudden, “He’s finally got it together and is gonna sing with all of us. If we get Sharpay to let us into the show. That’s where this guy comes in.” She gestured to Ryan. Gabriella looked at him with a shy smile. 

“You look good, Ryan. I’m glad you’re not dancing into oblivion anymore,” she joked lightly, earning a laugh out of Ryan. Taylor scrunched her face in confusion. Something she was clearly something she wasn’t used to. 

Gabriella let herself smile fully. That bouncy feeling that Ryan assumed everyone suddenly felt when Gabriella was around and happy flooded his system. If he weren’t gay, Troy would have some competition. But alas, he was, so the basketball-reincarnate was safe. “So what’s the plan?”

Taylor got herself together in the blink of an eye, the meddling confusion gone and probably waiting to stab Ryan in the back, and gestured back to the car. “We’ll need to be getting back to Lava Springs. Oh! And Troy says he’s sorry about you quitting. If all goes well, we can probably get you another job there too. Well, Ryan could.” Her eyes fell on the boy in question. “Probably.”

Ryan gave Gabriella the best nervous smile he could muster. Apparently, that was enough to get Gabriella calling back to her mom about leaving with her friends and texting her when she was going home. They ran out to the car and buckled in- because goddamnit, despite the fact that it would crinkle his bright orange vest and matching speckled shirt, he’s not going to get thrown into a tree- and sped down the road.

The car ride was as painfully long, or as straight-up painful, like the first, and passed by with Gabriella asking about each of the Wildcats. Though mostly Troy. 

“Is he really sorry?” Gabriella asked from the front passenger seat. Ryan had forfeited it to stay far away from Taylor as possible. Thankfully, Taylor seemed to get the picture on her own and kept the conversation between her and the Latina teen.

Taylor appeared to roll her eyes from the front seat. “Oh, yeah. Pretty sure he wrote a private apology for every last one of us. I think Chad got an entire free-verse poem. And we both know Troy hardly knows what that is.”

Gabriella giggled. Actually giggled. Ryan wasn’t that surprised, if he were honest. It just felt nice to have her back. 

“He didn’t just do it cause all of his friends wouldn’t hang out with him, right?” Gabriella asked after a moment. “Troy said he was working towards a scholarship. I- I wouldn’t want him to give that up for me or any of us.”

A deafening silence hovered like dense fog in the car. Wonderful, there were those awkward car conversations again. Ryan tried to push himself into the back of the seat. He’d been told about Sharpay using Red Hawk scholarships but of course Ryan had forgotten that Troy couldn’t just pay the tuition fee easily. Or at all, maybe. Taylor must’ve as well since she stuttered for a moment before coming up with an answer. 

“Chad said he wanted to sing with us again. I think. I wasn’t there when he professed his undying love for you and his basketball bros.” That eased out an acute smile from Gabriella. The topic swayed to other things, like Zeke’s pies and Jason being… Jason, and Ryan pushed the awkwardness out of the car window. 

Gabriella kept small talk going for the rest of the car ride, recounting her tales staying at her house for the past few weeks of summer. Ryan watched the two girls laugh and smile all the way home. Having Gabriella back definitely improved everyone’s mood. 

That was certainly proven when Gabriella climbed out of the car and was met with a pack of Wildcats jumping out from every possible direction to hug the crap out of her. An awful visual, sure, but Gabriella’s cute giggle when Troy picked beamed at her lit up Ryan’s face. In the background, Chad gave Ryan a thumbs up. Now, with all of the players on the board, Ryan would attempt to salvage a decent performance while there was still no actual word on whether or not there was going to be one at all. 

Well, Evanses didn’t back down from challenges. 

The Wildcats crowded into the bare staff-only hallway to sneak into the piano room. A few stayed behind to keep Fulton happy since yes, they were supposed to be working but dammit this seemed more important. Even Chad, who had been whining about tips and new cars for most of the summer, sped down the hall like a mad man. 

Kelsi dragged Troy and Gabriella over to her piano, probably to coerce them into the inevitable solos they were going to take. Meanwhile, Ryan went through the pages full of notes that outlined the choreography. Most of it was rather easy, just flailing around the room with minimal symmetry. Hell, Jason could pull it off if Ryan worked hard enough. Maybe even without tripping. 

That dream might’ve been thrown out the window when Jason nearly threw  _ himself  _ out of the window but Ryan took it in stride.

Ryan caught Chad’s eye several times throughout the rehearsal. It was a constant reminder of what Taylor told him on the way to get Gabriella. If she was telling the truth- and let’s be honest, Ryan couldn’t come up with a reason why she’d be lying- then Chad did like him. And all those times that the two of them had been pushing the boundaries of straight guy friends might’ve been alluding to something else. Maybe something not-so-straight. 

But those thoughts were distracting so Ryan did his best to think of anything else. Sharpay apparently had that covered.

Ryan glimpsed the sight of the pink primadonna hiding behind a plant at the doorway. He went through the end of the song before stalking over towards her. Sharpay wore an unidentifiable expression clouded by the red of her cheeks. 

“So you’re serious about this, then?” The tension in her posture rolled off in waves. “You’re really a Wildcat now. I- well, you didn’t have to have Troy tell me off the day of. Or outside, where everyone could see us. And that was all him, right? Cause I know you have the Evans’ ability to manipulate stupid basketball jocks too.” She sighed and averted her eyes. Ryan had expected her to blow up in his face, scream like she had in front of Troy, do something that wasn’t… this. This being nearly apologizing. But Sharpay never apologized. 

Except she did.

“I don’t get what you like about them. About  _ him.  _ But I’ve been doing a crappy job being your twin all summer, so I guess it makes sense you’d ditch me for anyone. And if this makes you happy, for whatever reason, I guess I should support you or whatever. So, what I mean to say, is that you guys can sing in the Star Dazzle show. All of you. I’m sorry.”

Ryan took a deep breath that stuttered into nervous laughter. “I was afraid I’d have to talk to mom about getting us in the show.”

Sharpay’s eyes lit up with a mixture of humor, shock and pride. “You-  _ what…  _ how long?”

Ryan looked down with a small smile, quickly glancing back to the group talking and badly imitating the dance without him. “It’s recent. Still can’t say your name too well. Been practicing though,” Ryan admitted.

His sister made a noise that sounded like the cross of an angry chihuahua and a squeaky whistle. “And you didn’t  _ tell  _ me?” She gripped Ryan’s shoulders and jumped up and down in place.

“You were, um, busy.”

Sharpay momentarily looked defeated before pushing that aside and proudly stared Ryan down. “Well, now we can finally get you to do voice lessons with me. Oh! And think of all the duets we can do together now! And you can actually sing in the show- you’ve been practicing that, right? And you won’t have to be part of the dancing ensemble now, can you belie-” Ryan cut her off by putting a hand over Sharpay’s mouth. If he let her go on, the entire world would learn about Ryan’s apparent new conquests in the theatre. 

When he removed his hand, Sharpay moved to hug him. It probably looked weird to the other Wildcats who’d stopped to watch them in the entryway to the practice room. But it felt nice. Not having Sharpay beside him throughout everything that had happened this summer had been ruthless. Sharpay pulled away smiling.

Suddenly Ryan felt terrible. This was Sharpay’s show, wasn’t it? Her thing that she did every year and they’d ripped it away from her. Did that make him as bad as she had been to them? That gave birth to an idea, which had Ryan walking over to Chad across the room.

“That looked promising.”

Ryan nodded. “Do you think you can convince Troy to let ‘Pay in the show?”

The Wildcat did a double-take. “Um, what?” A confused glance was directed at Sharpay and Ryan before he repeated, “What? Wasn’t this about getting her  _ out  _ of the show?”

Ryan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel bad.”

That made Chad smile, somehow. “Well, we can’t be having that. I’ll do my best. Dunno if Troy and Gabi will want her in but have you seen this face?” He said with a quick hand framing his own chin. “Can you say  _ no  _ to this face?” 

Ryan chuckled. “Nope.”

Sharpay leaned towards the practice room as Chad made his way over to the lovey-dovey couple- were those two straight saps back together? Who knew, but Ryan would say probably yes- and raised an accusing, perfectly trimmed eyebrow. Then, she stepped into a jazz square, all the time holding up two hands shaped like a heart. Ryan rolled his eyes, seeing what she meant to say. He repeated it back, sending not-so-subtle gestures towards Chad. Sharpay giggled and started again as well. Except this time, it was sincere and felt less of a joke and more of a  _ I love you too, you idiot. _

Now all was left to practicing and waiting for the Star Dazzle show to begin.

* * *

Ryan felt like he was about to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West (though she didn’t actually die according to Wicked- that’s not the point). He hadn’t bothered to sneak glances at the audience ahead of time, he’s seen all the faces sitting in the perfectly positioned chairs before, but some of the Wildcats kept sneaking glances from the wings. He wanted to tell them to stop. It probably wasn’t worth it. Maybe it was. Ryan let out a groan. He was not ready for this.

Why was he so nervous? He’d never gotten like this before.

“Hey, calm down, Rainbow. Don’t need the only good dancer to die before the show even starts.” Chad’s head popped out from behind Ryan, settling on the blonde’s shoulder. “Calm down, I thought you were a professional.” Ryan rolled his eyes. Maybe he  _ would  _ be if Chad didn’t go around doing stupid things like this. 

Chad seemed to notice the tension Ryan had bouncing off the walls because he straightened and stood beside him. “It’s gonna be fine. Even if you mess up- which I doubt you will- you’ll mess up with the rest of us. And we’ll probably get to laugh all about years from now…”

Ryan’s eyes wandered as Chad continued to talk. Taylor stood across the stage, talking to Gabriella while waiting for their cues. Before Taylor could find his eyes and maybe start the most awkward staring contest known to mankind, Ryan let out a stuttering breath that he hoped sounded like a laugh. Chad was doing his best to distract him from the crowd but not from stupid gay feelings. Oh well.

All of the worries and anxieties squirming in Ryan’s stomach ramped up to a ten when Fulton crossed across the stage. He cleared his throat before leaning into the microphone, “And now, for our last performance, we have a special group number orchestrated by our own staff, Mr. Ryan Evans and Miss Sharpay Evans, winner of the last five Star Dazzle Award shows. Performing an original song entitled All for One, put your hands together for the Wildcats.” Fulton sounded like he was falling asleep but Ryan couldn’t dwell on that because he was suddenly pushed onto the stage with the rest of the ensemble.

The peppy instrumental flooded out of the speakers as each of the soloists made their way to the front. Of course, Troy and Gabriella stood towards the middle with Sharpay aggressively trying to push her way in from the side. Somehow Chad had agreed to perform a solo too. Ryan couldn’t keep off the smile on his face when Chad belted from behind his microphone. 

In the audience, Derby Evans’ face lit up when Ryan sang out with the rest of the Wildcats. His dad put a hand on her shoulder as if she would’ve shot up into a standing ovation half a minute into the song. 

The nervous feeling dissipated once they started the dance break. This was his element and doing it while watching Chad struggle through the same moves kept a dopey smile on his face as he danced with Martha. Suddenly, Ryan felt loose and more alive than he’d been in weeks. God, he had missed doing this.

Cheers flew out into the night air thanks to Troy and Gabriella’s amazing ability to hype up spectators by simply dancing around each other. A few people swayed to the beat during the chorus.

As the painfully loud music drew to a close a resolution, the crowd erupted in applause. Derby was the first to scream from her seat as she sat up quickly. A few other members of the audience followed suit and clapped loudly standing in front of their seats. Sharpay crouched down on the stage to blow kisses to the people, not caring that most of them were older friends of their parents. In the chaos of the applause, Chad crossed the stage towards Ryan. Dark arms were thrown around Ryan’s shoulders to pull him into a hug. They stayed close like that for a long time. Ryan forgot to keep count.

Chad pushed him back but kept his hands on Ryan’s shoulders. “Dude, that was great! How come nobody told me dancing could actually be kind of a little bit, maybe, fun?” The two of them shared matching smiles. 

“So you  _ do  _ dance, huh?” Ryan whispered to Chad. 

Chad snickered and looked down. “Yeah, maybe.” Just beyond Chad, Taylor stood beside some of what looked like some of her decathlon friends. She glanced at Ryan and gave him a thumbs-up, a small shy smile inching onto her face.

Oh. 

“Um, could we move this somewhere else?” Ryan muttered towards the floor.

Chad looked around, eyes falling on the crowd. “Yeah, that works. Everything’s real loud over here anyways.” He took Ryan’s hand and walked across the stage together.

When they found the stairs leading off to the cool grass, Derby came out to greet them. “Boys! That was wonderful, just wonderful. I loved every second of it. And Chad, I had no idea you could sing. You might give my pumpkin a run for her money.” Derby seemed to bounce in place. Chad made a choked off sound at that last part as if imagining himself up on a stage singing his lungs out onto the floor.

Derby faced herself towards her son. Nearly instantaneously, her eyes filled up with tears, “I- why didn’t you tell me you were singing again? Ducky, is that why you’ve been distant? You know I would have been there for you.” She slipped a hand into Ryan’s open one. 

Ryan took a moment to prepare himself. “I know, Mom.” Derby fell into loud sobs, giving Ryan a small kiss on the cheek. He felt his face go red as Chad visibly struggled to hold back a laugh.

A painfully long moment passed before Ryan’s mom noticed her son’s hand intertwined with Chad’s. Her eyes lit up and nearly let out a squeal. “Oh, sorry, you go ahead. You sure you don’t want to stay for the awards though?” Chad stilled beside him. Crap. Awards. 

“Oh, um, yeah Mrs. Evans. We probably should. Thanks,” Chad mumbled, letting go of Ryan’s hand. The face Ryan must’ve made couldn’t have been anything less than downright depressing, since Derby gave a small smile and shook her head.

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be fine, now that I think about it. And when- oh, sorry, _if,_ but as if anyone could top that performance- you win I’ll be sure to handle the trophy. You boys run along and make out or whatever it is kids do these days.” With a sincere smile, like she didn’t just imply that Chad and Ryan were running off to do less-than appropriate things to each other, Derby Evans meandered across the field to the stage.

Chad glanced at Ryan’s mom before coughing into his fist and gesturing over to the empty basketball court just out of sight. Meanwhile, Ryan did his best to erase that conversation out of his head. 

They wandered over towards the pavement rising out of the slightly wet grass, probably from the sprinklers. Ryan settled down on the grass as discomfort tried to burst its way to the surface. Chad did the same.

“This is a bit different than the last time we were here, huh?”

“Well, the last time I cried in your lap after being criticized by my only friend and sister. I’d say this is a step up.”

Chad chuckled awkwardly. “Um, I kinda meant that last time it was during the day. And, like, we weren’t recovering from the hell that is performing on stage.”

“Hmm.”

Ryan adjusted his legs while the soft murmur of crickets drifted in the night air. From afar he could still hear the cheering coming from the Star Dazzle show. He wondered if the Wildcats had won or not. If they hadn’t, Sharpay would probably coerce the judges into ‘rethinking their decision’. A quiet smile adorned his face at the thought when he turned back to Chad. The other boy had been staring intently at Ryan’s face while he zoned out.

“Um- I’m sorry ‘bout my mom. She…  _ probably _ doesn’t understand what that meant.”

Chad blinked, swiftly looking away from Ryan as if he’d gotten lost in thought as well. “No, no, my mom is the same way. Kinda awkward when I bring Taylor over though.” Oh god, Taylor, definitely not where he wanted this or any conversation to go, “Especially since I, um, don’t really want to do that with her.”

“What?” Stupid Ryan, he sort of knew that already. At least that’s what Taylor seemed to imply.

Chad rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, she’s not really my type. A little too overbearing, to be honest. Sure there’s a person out there who likes that. Just... maybe not me. And I don’t know why I’m telling you this but-”

Before Ryan could stop himself, he leaned in and kissed Chad. The first part was nice and soft and amazing but quickly overlooked because the second was full of uncertainty because holy shit, he’d kissed Chad like he’s always wanted to. Though, Chad hadn’t seemed to give any indication that  _ he  _ wanted to kiss Ryan in the first place and what if he just messed everything up? Had he just lost the second friend (third? Gabriella was technically his friend-  _ not the time) _ he’d ever had? 

All of that was erased when Chad brought up a hand to gently caress Ryan’s jaw.

It was gentle, sweet, in a way that Ryan couldn’t possibly ever describe to anyone without actually having to show them personally. Even then, it wouldn’t be quite the same. While certainly innocent in nature, the kiss brought up questions and answers in a matter of a few seconds. The two boys drew away with a deep breath. Their hands still remained close as they were set on the ground beside them.

Ryan tried to sort out what exactly happened while Chad quipped, “I guess your mom was right,  _ Ducky.”  _ The blonde pushed Chad back in return. But his hand lingered on the Wildcat’s arm and squeezed it sincerely.

“You’re-”  _ Okay with Ryan, the very gay theatre kid, who likes you very much kissing you?  _ “Gay?” Well, almost.

To his credit, Chad actually considered for a moment. “Well,” he started tentatively, “Women are still hot. But maybe a certain Evans who just so happens to be a guy is too. And I’ve kind of wanted to do that for a little while. Didn’t know if you liked me that way, though. Just cause you’re gay didn’t mean you liked me.” The last part was uttered with a hint of embarrassment. 

“I mean, you’re great for not assuming. But really, how could you not tell I liked you? I thought it was the most obvious thing on the planet.” 

Chad tilted his head and scrunched up his face. “Really?”

Ryan lets out a laugh he had apparently been building up through the conversation. “Taylor found out and I’ve only talked to her twice. And your whole team. The teasing?”

From the way his eyes darted towards the ground, Chad must’ve been close to blushing. Ryan couldn’t quite tell in the dark but it was almost certain. “I thought that was ‘cause they knew  _ I  _ liked  _ you. _ ”

Ryan took a second before muttering, “So we’re not going to mention dancing with each other in an empty practice room or me crying in your lap or us trading hats or literally our entire friendship so far.”

“Chatty. And I guess we’re kinda oblivious, huh?”

“No, Chad, just you.”

The stars were bright above them, standing out in the pitch-black sky. Out there in the country, they shined as bright as the sequins on Ryan’s hats. Chad and Ryan gazed up at them together. It was nice to soak in the near-peacefulness of the night. 

Chad squinted up at the stars in thought. “Do you think we could make this a thing? You and me, I mean.”

“Your team won’t discriminate you ‘cause of that?” Ryan softly asked.

“It’ll take a bit to get used to. For everyone. So long as we’re not another Gabriella and Troy, the team probably won’t care that I’m dating the amazing Ryan Evans. Couldn’t be any worse than Zeke and Sharpay.” They each made a face. “Well, they might be a bit jealous,” Chad grinned.

“Don’t think anyone else could be as sickeningly sweet as those two star-crossed lovers,” Ryan joked but then realized that was pretty accurate. Chad clearly agreed with a simple yet concise nod. “And I do. Want to make this a thing.”

“Okay, then I definitely want to kiss you again.”


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which... well... gay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re done. No more jazz squares, I’m afraid. Though a follow up one shot isn’t completely out of the question... maybe. We do have several ideas for more one shots. See you guys soon! ~Mop
> 
> Hi Luna (and everyone else). I know you’re out there. Thanks for reading this gay journey!!!! Love you all. ~Max

It would take a while for everyone to figure out that Ryan and Chad were actually dating. Teasing was one thing but walking in on them making out in a closet when Chad was supposed to be washing dishes was another. Troy took one look at them, his mouth limply hanging on the floor, and stammered his way back to the kitchen. Somehow, he managed to keep his mouth shut. Maybe it was because Troy was mentally scarred for nearly three hours afterward and appeared to wipe the image from his brain.

Unsurprisingly, Taylor was the first to find out. Mostly because she was Chad’s ride since he didn’t have a car. They walked together towards the parking lot to find Taylor leaning on her car. She raised an eyebrow at their hands interlaced in the dark. Chad scrambled to pull apart but Taylor shook her head and raised an outstretched hand. 

“Nah, I knew this was gonna happen. Embrace it,” she said but quickly pressed her lips together. “Unless you need to ease into it. But I’d pull off the band-aid quickly or else it’s going to come back to haunt you.”

They didn’t. Ryan knew that Chad wouldn’t be the most comfortable flaunting his new boyfriend around the country club full of old rich people who probably weren’t the most accepting of folks. Of course, that led to the Troy incident. And the Sharpay incident a week afterward.

Ryan and Chad were hanging out in Ryan’s room, as they usually did, when Sharpay burst into the room. She pushed the door open with a mighty force and held what looked like the Star Dazzle award in her right hand. Ryan couldn't quite tell being a little preoccupied with Chad.

“Mom wanted me to give this to you since you choreographed the thing or- _jesus christ what are you doing?”_ Her eyes widened comedically before she slapped a hand over her eyes. “Never would have pegged you as the first Wildcat to succumb to my brother’s subtle flirting, Chad. You are exactly our type, though.” Chad cringed as Sharpay stumbled blindly over to Ryan’s desk to put down the trophy. “This is yours. You could just put it in the trophy case in the lobby with all our other trophies, but you seem busy,” she smirked evilly, turned around, let her hand fall down to her side and swayed her hips to an invisible beat as she danced out the doorway. 

After that, they agreed to tell everyone at once. They crowded in Gabriella’s living room one Friday after work watching a movie when Chad stood up and walked to the middle of the room.

“So, guys, I um- well, me and Ryan… we’re-”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “We’re dating,” he muttered under his breath. 

Everyone turned to face him, expressions all varieties of surprise and confusion.

“Huh. Well, that’s new, I guess.”

“Weren’t you and Taylor dating?”

“Well, I knew. Cause I’m his sister and all.”

“Aww, _guys!”_

“That’s what that thing in the closet was about?”

“Ryan talks?”

Chad grinned at Ryan. At least no one seemed too upset about it. The rest of the movie night was spent asking questions (“How long have you been together?”, “What happened with Taylor?”, “Can I make the wedding cake?”, “Ryan _talks?_ ”) and glancing at the TV every few minutes to watch a character fall off a cliff or get their hand chopped off. 

Ryan couldn’t be bothered when Chad freely threw his arm around the dancer’s shoulders. He leaned on his boyfriend’s slowly expanding chest, breathing along to the rhythm. For once, he fell asleep without a care in the world. Chad would spend a few minutes gazing at the small smile Ryan wore when he slept.

Damn, being boyfriends felt _good._


End file.
